The Boy Who Stares
by LabRat3000
Summary: Modern HighSchool AU. Peeta/Cato. Cato was on top, but he fell to the bottom. He befriends "losers" like the goth Clove and the nerd Foxface. Now that he sees things more clearly, he notices a Freshman boy watching him.
1. The Dinner

The Boy Who Stares

LabRat3000

Chapter 1: The Dinner

I was on top. You have no idea: the captain of the football team, hottest guy in school, and the most popular. Well, I _was_.

How did I lose all of my popularity? It's simple. I broke my arm. It started out as a broken arm at least, but when I went to the doctor he said I needed glasses too. When I got glasses, I could actually see what the teacher would write on the board. Then, when we took tests, I just knew all the answers. Apparently, I have photographic memory. Because of my extraordinary grades, I was placed in almost every single honors class. I thought about getting the answers wrong on purpose, but my mother was so happy. So just like that, I went from star athlete, to star mathlete.

I was sitting alone at lunch for a week. I was _not_ going to sit with those other nerds, and my 'friends' weren't going to sit with me. I still look the same, but no one cares about my looks. All they see is that out-of-season loser who wears big, nerdy glasses and is smart and nerdy.

After a week, I was _unfortunately_ rescued by Clove. Clove has been at this school since third grade. In middle school, she was a loud, beautiful, and fun brunette who loved lime green. Over the summer after eight grade, she had a complete make-over. She died her hair black, except for a few streaks which she died hot pink. She threw away all of her bright clothes for black, goth attire. Ever since then, she's been sitting with the group of emo looking losers at the back of the dining hall.

I guess she felt bad for me. _She_ felt _bad_ for _me_! She sat next to me at lunch. Lunch is the time to talk to your friends. It decides where you stand socially here at Panem High. When she sat next to me, I got up immediately. I was going to move to another table, but she stated, "Fine, leave. I don't care. It's not like _I'm_ going to sit by myself." She knew my weak spot. I sat down next to her. We _used _to be friends in sixth grade English class, and she couldn't've changed _that_ much.

It was awkward silence. People were almost done getting their food. I looked around. All of my fr- _old_ friends were quietly laughing at me. There was this one freshman kid watching me, but he turned away as I looked at him. I've seen him before in the bakery near my house, but I don't go anymore. I'm sure he's named after a type of bread. _Wheat_? Loser.

"Hey! Jessie! Over here." waved Clove. I look over to Jessie and smack myself in the face. Foxface was cautiously walking towards us. Her real name was apparently Jessie. My old friends and I used to make fun of her and call her Foxface. She was the only other person in my AP Statistics class, but I never so much as looked at her. I heard she was really smart and fast.

"Hi Clove!" answered Foxface gleefully. I was so confused. Foxface and Clove were definitely not friends, but she still sat with us.

The next surprise visitor is Katniss. She's the only other person that sits alone at lunch besides me, but Clove calls her over anyway. Her boyfriend, Gale, was one of my best friends. He was one of the greatest lineman I've ever played with. Katniss used to sit by him, but she's a freak who'd rather sit alone.

I thought it couldn't get any weirder, but I was wrong. This Clove chick calls over another loser. His name is Thresh. My first impression of him was that he was cool, but I was way off. He doesn't talk to anyone, he doesn't play football, and he isn't even that smart. I thought he skipped lunch because I never saw him eating in the dining hall.

I looked around again, and I noticed that a lot of people were looking at us. That freshman was staring too. I thought about getting up and eating alone. It would tell people, "I'm still too cool for these losers. I'd rather eat alone." I don't know why I didn't do that.

Instead, I asked Clove, "What? What's going on? Why am I sitting at a table full of losers?"

She rolled her eyes. "Cato, if you haven't noticed, _you're_ a loser too. I seriously think all of you guys are cool. Have you seen Thresh play basketball on the streets? Have you seen Katniss shoot her gun? Have you seen Jessie sneak through the obstacle course during P.E.? They're way less of losers than you."

I sat there with my mouth open. Everyone else had the same expression. "Thresh... you play basketball? Why don't you join the team? I obviously can't play with my broken arm."

Then, I heard Thresh speak for the first time in my life. "I play for fun, not for school." Only seven words, but it was seven more word than I've heard him say.

"Katniss, you shoot guns? Do you hunt?" I asked.

"Well... yeah. I find this really creepy. I haven't even told Gale. How did you know, Clove?"

Clove rolled her eyes again. "Jessie is super quick. She does Cross-Country you know."

"That's correct, but I'm sure Cato wouldn't know that. We all know how Cross-Country isn't important to a star-football player." Jessie added.

"Ex-star-football player..." whispered Cato.

"I have the perfect idea! We should all go grab lunch or dinner together! It'll be a lot of fun." suggested Clove.

"I don't know you people." stated Thresh flatly.

"Yeah, like I said, I find you really creepy." agreed Katniss.

"It sounds like an enjoyable way to eat dinner." argued Jessie.

Everyone looked at me. I looked back and realized they wanted to see if I was going. I weighed my options. Stay home and cry over being a loser, or go to dinner with a bunch of losers that may or may not be cool. "I guess I'm going."

When I agreed, Katniss and Thresh agreed as well. Clove addressed all of us. "It's settled then. Let's go today at 7. Today's Friday right? Greasy's." With that, she put her tray away and left.

"She's crazy." voiced Katniss. The rest of us finished eating in silence.

I look around one last time. Most people have gotten over our little table of losers. That blond freshman was still looking at me. I wondered, who he was.

The next class I had was AP Statistics with Foxface, I mean Jessie. The teacher usually just gives us a study hall anyway. We only learn enough for the test by reading and practicing in the textbooks ourselves. It's sort of like an independent study.

"Hey, Cato, can you help me with this?" she asked me. I got up to see what she didn't understand. Just like that, we started helping each other out. We looked over each other's work and corrected it. It helped us improve _a lot_.

After school, Clove came to find me. "We're going to dinner at seven right? We should hang out before then."

"Why?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" she responded.

"Well," I started, "We haven't talked in a few years. Why do you like me now?"

Clove shrugged. "I would've talked to you earlier, but you were mean. Popularity kind of did that to you."

I hate it when people stereotype popular kids. Sure, I wasn't the nicest person, but I'm definitely not the meanest. The meanest is definitely Marvel. He's a jerk, but I hung out with him anyway. He's fun at parties.

"Well, you would be popular too if..." I stopped. I didn't want to be mean like she said she thought I was. "...you didn't change."

She glared at me. I knew she had a temper, but I seemed to have struck a nerve. "Fine! I don't need to hang out with you anyways." She turned to leave, but I put my hand on her shoulder. She was the only person being nice to me, so I wasn't going to reject her like I used to.

"No, stay."

"I want bread." stated Clove. I laughed.

"That's random."

"Drive me to the bakery!" she begged.

"...uh, okay. I don't forgot where it is, but sure." I replied.

"Oh! Turn on Seam St..." started Clove. As she instructed me on how to get there, I realized that Wheat would be there. The boy that keeps looking at me works there.

When we got there, Clove rushed inside. I followed slowly behind her, but I got over it. No one cool would see me here because this part of town is for parents to do their shopping. Clove greeted the man sweeping. She yelled to the back, greeting the female worker. At the register was the blond boy.

"Hi, Peeta," whispered Clove. _Peeta_ was not named Wheat. He said hi to Clove, but he wouldn't look at me. I found it funny, that he would watch from afar but not up close.

Clove literally bought like, eight different types of bread. There was rye, wheat, cornbread, flatbread, and she even bought _pita_ bread. When we got in my car, she offered me the pita bread. I casually took it and nibbled at the top. She then jumped out of the car without an explanation. When she came back, she told me, "I forgot to tip."

I nodded, but she continued. "Oh! I also invited Peeta to our dinner party."

"Why?" I asked. There was something about this kid that I just didn't understand. I wasn't too eager to be friends with him.

"He's one of my best friends." answered Clove. I guessed Clove got bread a lot, or something.

I look at the clock. It was six. I showed Clove, and she rushed me home for some reason. I realized why when she threw me into my room and ripped apart my dresser. "You need to wear... these." she ordered. She picked out some khaki pants and a blue button-up shirt.

I rolled my eyes. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing? We're only going to Greasy's right?" Our suburb, Panem, only had a few restaurants, and only one of them was for people under the age of 21. When we make plans, it's automatically at Greasy's. "It'll get dirty anyway." Greasy's was a sort of fast-food restaurant, but they had their elegant dishes as well. She rolled her eyes.

I look at the clock again. It was already 6:45 pm. "Clove, you've been looking for clothes for me to wear for over half an hour. I don't have time to get dressed. We're going to be late if we don't leave now."

"Oh my god! No! Cato, let's go!" she shouted. She grabbed me by the arm and pushed me into my car when we got outside.

The drive there was only five minutes, so we were six minutes early. Peeta was sitting outside with Thresh, talking about who knows what. When Clove got out of the car, she ran up and hugged Thresh, as if he were her close friend, and then Peeta. I awkwardly said hi to both of them.

"Thresh was just telling my that he played basketball." informed Peeta, to break the awkward silence.

Foxface, I mean Jessie, had slipped over to us. Clove was the first to notice, but then we all said hi. I was more comfortable around Jessie. She laughed at my jokes, and we talked a lot in math class. Katniss walked up to us, and we went inside to eat. I still found it very weird. Each of us would've never talked to each other if it wasn't for Clove.

I held the door open as everyone walked in, and we ordered our food. Peeta and I wanted the same thing, lobster, so Clove told us to share one. Lobster was one of the only things Greasy's cooked besides, well, greasy food.

The lobster they brought out was small. Peeta and I were practically touching hands when we were eating. Peeta was really shy about the whole thing, so I didn't want to say anything. While we were eating, Katniss was telling us a story about how she practically wrestled a bear for some game. I was paying attention, but from the corner of my eye I saw Peeta staring at me. Clove was looking at him with a smirk.

Dinner with those losers was actually sort of fun. They're not as bad as I thought, at least. Peeta watched me the whole time, but I honestly don't mind that much. There's just something about him.

"Cato, can you drive Peeta and me home?" asked Clove a little too innocently. I nodded and we got into my car. Peeta was sitting up front with me. As we drove I learned about a hundred things about Peeta. He loved to bake bread, he was in AP art even though he was a freshman, and he was funny. Clove's house was closest; she gave us hugs and ran inside.

"Peeta, don't you like live in your bakery?" I asked.

He nodded. "We have this floor upstairs that comes with three bedrooms."

When we arrived at his house and got out, I felt like walking him up to the door. He turned around and faced me as we were up there. "Cato, I really had fun today." he whispered shyly.

I put my hand on his shoulder and replied, "I did too. I doubt that I would've had any fun if _you_ weren't there though."

He smiled and looked back. No one was behind him. He took a step closer to me. That's when it happened.

He kissed me and then receded into his house.

* * *

**AN: Tell me what you think! I personally like the way it came out, but do you?**


	2. Deciding Who Decides

The Boy Who Stares

LabRat3000

**AN: So, I got a lot of reviews last chapter! Thanks! It motivated me to update as soon as possible.**

Chapter 2: Deciding Who Decides

I somehow managed to get in my car. I was still processing everything that just happened in a day. First, Clove and the losers, who aren't actually that bad, sit with me at lunch. We somehow magically became friends in one day. Then, out of the blue, the freshman kid, who stares at me, kissed me. I guessed that explained why he stared at me so much.

As I was driving home, Clove called me. I was unaware that she had my number, but I wasn't too surprised. "Cato! What the hell did you do to Peeta!" I pulled up at some gas station. This was going to be a long conversation. Clove continued, "Why is he crying?"

"He's... crying?" I asked. I was kind of sad that he was sad.

"Aha! You do know something!" she concluded. "What did you do?"

"Nothing! _I_ wasn't the- you know what, I'll come over to your house tomorrow. Don't worry, he's fine."

"He better be. He's like a brother to me." She hung up after that. I thought about everything while I drove the rest of the way home.

The next day, Clove called me. Unfortunately, she called me at eight. It was a Saturday! Who wake up at _eight_ on a saturday? Anyways, I couldn't go back to sleep, so I got dressed and went over to her house. She gave me her address in a voicemail. She actually woke up at 7:30.

When I got over to her house, she was sitting outside. She was talking to someone, probably one of the sophomore goths that she seemed to talk to a lot. She was twirling her hair. "...so I asked her why she got hit with a baseball, and she told me that the elephant was dead- Oh! I'll call you back." She hung up when she saw me.

"Cato!" growled Clove. She jumped on me, pushing me against the grass of her neat garden. "What did you do to Peeta? I know it's you! He called me again today. Peeta was still crying, but I heard your name a lot."

I pushed her off of me. "I didn't do anything."

Her glare didn't ease a bit. "Then what happened?"

I sighed. "He... kissed... me. I-I didn't know what to do, so I kind of just stood there. He turned around and ran into his house without hearing what I was going say." Clove was wide-eyed.

"He kissed you! O-M-G! That is so cute!... Do _you_ like him like that?"

I stopped. I just thought about a whole lot of stuff, but that was like the one thing I didn't ask myself. The kiss was nice, but Peeta was a dude. He was a funny, sweet, and hot dude, but he was a dude. I was so confused, but Clove wouldn't have that. Then, I remembered when he was sad, I felt sad. _Why_? Was it because... "Well?" She wasn't glaring at me again, but she looked a little impatient.

"I guess I do a little, but I don't think I'll be dating him." I answered shyly.

That made her go crazy with rage. "Well why not?" she screamed.

I gave her a hard look. "He's a _boy_."

She slapped my chest. "I'm wasn't going to force you to date him if you didn't like him, but you do, so I'm going to. You have to date him! You guys are such a cute couple."

"He's a guy, Clove. This isn't an easy thing to overlook. It's all just happening so fast. First, I'm a nerd, and now I'm gay. Do you know what would happen to me if I just start to date him?" I asked her.

She seemed to calm down a little. "Cato, no one cares. It's not like you're going to get any less popular. They won't bully you, or Peeta, because you two are strong enough to protect yourselves. If you say no, Peeta will cry forever. It'll hurt him more than any bully ever will. If you really did like him, even a little, you wouldn't want that. Besides, if you like him, then why does it even matter if he's a guy?"

I paused to think over what she said. I did like Peeta, but what would everyone else think? Then, I realized that, unlike Clove who seemed really happy, I just worried about everyone else. I never did anything I wanted to do. I was too scared to get bread from the bakery. I even called Jessie... well, Foxface. This answer right here decides if I'm going to be a social puppet, or a happy loser.

I looked at my cast, and saw all the names that signed it. The cool kids, my old friends, were all scribbled onto there. I had to chose between them and my new friends who don't care about my glasses and classes. I had to chose who decided my life.

I nodded slowly as I guided Clove to my car. I hugged her and we said our quick good-byes. I felt so close to her, but we've only been friends for a day and a half. I opened the car, and with my good hand, I drove all the way to Peeta's house. Clove, Peeta, and I lived really close together, so it didn't take me long.

I knocked on the door, and the man who was sweeping the shop yesterday opened it. He looked a lot like Peeta, nice and strong. Without asking me anything, he yelled, "Peeta! Cato's here to see you!" I wondered how he knew my name. He gave me a warm smile as he let me into the bakery. He told me where Peeta's room was, so I went myself.

I knocked at first, but Peeta didn't even make a sound on the other side. I started banging the door. A door opened from behind me. I guess I was too worried about Peeta to pay too much attention to his dad. "That's the bathroom." laughed Peeta with a small, sad chuckle.

I turned around and tried to look at him, but he had receded into his room. I followed him in there to see a bunch of tissues in the trash can. I looked at him, and I noticed that he had washed his face to hide his tears. I could see his red eyes, but if Clove didn't tell me he was crying, I would've thought he was just tired or something.

"So... are you here to, like, beat me up?" asked Peeta. His voice told me that he was scared. He genuinely thought I was going to beat him up. He laid down on his bed. The sheets under him were neatly made.

I closed the door quietly, and I walked over to Peeta's bed. His blue sheets brought out his amazingly blue eyes. I jumped on top of him and looked into his eyes. He was so scared. I didn't want to see him like this, so I thought of something to do to show him how I felt. I leaned down and kissed him. When we broke apart, his eyes were full of hopefulness and confusion. "Now why would I want to hurt someone as beautiful as you?"

His smile made my day that day. "I don't have to work on Saturdays." he told me. That meant that we could spend the whole day together.

I realized that I was still lying on top of him and blushed. I rolled off, and we sat up. "So, Peeta, tell me about _you_. We just shared two kisses, but I don't even know who you are."

He thought a little. "Well, I'm a freshman, so I'm only like, 2 years younger that you. I'm in almost every honors class like you. I play tennis, but you probably don't care. I know how football, basketball, and baseball are the only sports that you think make a person cool. I like to make bread, so work isn't that bad. When I'm not thinking about bread or school, I'm talking to Clove. Before I knew that I liked you, I had a little crush on her."

I blushed a deeper shade of red. "When did you know you liked me?" I asked quietly. I was surprising myself. I was just being bold, daring, and soulful, but now I'm being shy, quiet, and giggly.

He looked at me like it was obvious. "Last year, you were a junior and I was an eighth grader. This senior named Brutus and his friends were picking on me. Don't you remember?"

I shook my head, but I remembered that Brutus was a bully. Peeta continued, "You saved me! I was going to be stuck in a locker all day, but you saved me! You were so heroic. You told Brutus that I was cool, and you pulled me out of the locker. It was amazing. Brutus seemed to believe you, so he stopped picking on me all year."

I remembered now. He had hated Brutus, so he did everything he could to go against him. That included helping out people he bullied. "That... that was _you_? You were so small and weak. I would never have believed that you would be so sexy in just a year."

He pulled me in for another kiss. "I know this may seem a little rushed, but I've waited a year for this. I know a lot about you. I totally stalked you over that summer. I found out that you have a photographic memory, that you pretend to be like the people around you without knowing it, that you're a little self conscious, and that you are extra nice whenever other people aren't being nice. You always encourage people. Whenever they missed a pass, you would throw it to them until they made a touchdown."

I was caught a little off guard. This kid new more about me than I did. He knew I had photographic memory before I did. If I had known this when he was staring at me, I would've been creeped out, but now it's kind of cute. He said I was like the people around me. That explained a lot. I was so confused when no one sat around me because I was forced to be me for the first time.

He started to kiss me again, and this time it was more passionate. He licked my lips, asking for entrance. I opened my mouth a little too quickly and eagerly. He smiled into the kiss. I realized that my eyes were closed because I felt so blissful. I opened them to see him looking at me with lust. We broke the kiss to get some needed air. "You look beautiful when you're happy." he told me.

I took his hand in my own and we laid there, on Peeta's bed. I hugged him close to me so that I could burry my head in his golden hair. This was nice. It was only like ten in the morning, but I felt like lying with him there all day. I knew that was impossible. I wanted to spend time with him, but not in his house. I wanted to be in public, but I knew that we couldn't. At least, we couldn't be all flirty in public, but that's how I felt around Peeta.

"I want to take you out on a date." I told him.

He beamed up at me. I think he knew that I was going to try to keep _us_ a secret because he replied, "Let's have a picnic in the park. No one ever goes there anymore, so it's perfect." It's true. No one ever went to the park. Two years ago, an old hobo moved into there. His name was Haymitch, I think. He used to scare us kids off. The only people who still went there were adults who jogged around the park. I remember finding a place near the lake that was secluded, so he wouldn't bother us on our date. Haymitch usually stayed near the fountain.

I got up, but I accidentally yanked Peeta's arm. I had forgotten that I was holding his hand. It kind of seemed, well, right. "I want to tell Clove about us... so can I, like, call you my, you know, boyfriend?" I asked. He smiled an nodded.

"I would be upset if you didn't." I looked at him again. His eyes weren't really that red anymore, and he looked so much better. His messy blond hair that fell to his face was almost as breathtaking as his eyes. I've probably said this before, but he had the most amazing and the most blue eyes.

He had to lead me to my car because I could stop staring at him for a change. He was a freshman, so he couldn't drive. Clove knew how to drive, but she didn't have a car. Even though I broke an arm, I was going to be driving them everywhere, I just knew it.

We drove over to Clove's house, and when she opened the door and saw us holding hands she freaked. She actually pulled us in, and forced us to tell her everything. She was pretty forceful but girlish. I wouldn't be surprised if she was a killer cheerleader in a past life.

"So when are you guys going on this date?" she asked.

"Tomorrow," answered Peeta and I simultaneously. We laughed as we held hands again.

Clove rolled her eyes, like she always did. "Guys, that wasn't even funny. If you two weren't so cute together..."

"We are cute together, aren't we?" Peeta whispered sweetly. I leaned down and we touched foreheads, never breaking eye contact. "Cato, do you want to come over and meet my family?"

I panicked. "What? No!" I realized how quickly I said that. "I mean, I don't think-"

Peeta silenced me with a kiss. "I was kidding." Peeta and Clove laughed, but I was flushed.

As we were leaving Clove's house she pulled over for a quick word. "I'm glad you finally decided that you were the one who got to decide your own life."

**AN: So what do you think of this chapter?**


	3. Gale Knows

The Boy Who Stares

LabRat3000

Chapter 3: Gale Knows

Peeta and I spent all of Sunday together, like we did Saturday. It was amazing. _He_ was amazing. I'm so glad that I gave him a change. He did everything just right. He was an amazing baker. It got to the point where I had to make him promise not to bring me anymore of his addictive cupcakes. He did this cute thing where he would put my face on them. It was realistic and pretty, but I had to preserve my good looks because that's one of the few things I had left. He was also one of the best artists, ever. He showed me some paintings that he drew. Mostly, they were of me.

Not only that, I met his family and learned more about him as a person. I would've told him about me, but he already knew more about me then even I did. I would find that super creepy, but he's so cute that it's okay.

The only time we could talk at school was during lunch. Our school gave us two hours to eat, so we usually ate together before heading somewhere to be alone together.

We did this on Monday. I ate a sandwich while Peeta ate a few fruits. Everybody sat at lunch again. Thresh was telling us the 'hilarious' story of how he found out what yolo meant. Peeta and I sat next to each other. Above the table we looked normally spaced apart, but under the table we were rubbing our legs together. We stopped so that we could go to the library, and we started studying together. He was in all the classes that I used to be in freshman year. We joked about this French teacher that he has. She's all about manners, and she talked in this funny accent. Her name was Mme. Trinket.

As we sat down, we saw my old friends. I was kind of embarrassed that I was studying with Peeta. I knew that I shouldn't've been, but I didn't want them to think that I'm such a loser that I could only be friends with freshmen. When we sat down, all my worries went away. Peeta started talking, and that calmed me a little too much. Peeta and I were kind of in this lovey-dovey stage, but only in our heads and when we were alone.

Peeta usually walked home after school, but on Monday I drove him over to my house. My mom didn't get home until seven, so we were home alone. We went straight to my room and started making out. I was a little surprised at how much passion Peeta was putting into the kisses. He was probably waiting all day to do this to me.

I told him that our relationship was going too fast, but he was cool about it. Whenever we kissed, he went all out, but he never asked for more.

Right after we just started kissing, the doorbell rang. I assumed it was Clove, so I ran out of my room to get it. I didn't expect to see Gale, but there he was. "Hi Cato," he said as if we were still really good friends.

"...Hi?" I repeated. I noticed that while Peeta and I were kissing, my shirt came off.

"So, um, you're like best friends with my girlfriend right?" asked Gale. I nodded slowly. "Did Katniss tell you anything interesting about me?"

"No, she never talks about you at all." I answered.

He took a step closer to me. "I-"

"Cato! Is that Clove?" Peeta yelled from my room. I had totally forgot about him.

"Who's that?" asked Gale. I didn't need to answer because Peeta left my room to join me. "Aren't you that freshman kid who hangs out with that emo chick?"

Peeta rolled his eyes, but he stayed calm. "Yes," he answered.

Peeta held my hand, but Peeta probably didn't think anything of it. Gale saw it, much to my dismay, and he left my house with, "Never mind Cato. I'll tell you later."

Peeta's grip on my hand tightened. "What was that?"

I clutched his hand reassuringly. "That was nothing. I think... I think he knows about _us_ because we were holding hands. He's chill though, so I think it's okay. I mean, he's dating Katniss right?"

"Oh my gosh! Cato, I'm so sorry. I totally forgot about not being romantic in front of people."

Peeta and I went back to my room and continued kissing. I couldn't help but think of Gale though. He knew. I concluded that I was going to talk to tomorrow.

When I drove to school the next day, I was preparing what I was going to say to Gale. At least, I was going to prepare. I saw Peeta and Clove walking to school. Clove can drive, but she doesn't have a car. I heard her parents used both of their cars like 24/7. I pulled up next to them and told them to get in. They hopped in to my car. Clove sat in the back, but Peeta decided to sit up front with me.

On Tuesdays I had a free period first. I started using it to do all my homework, but before I used to hang out with a bunch of people. Gale was one of them because he shared my free period with me.

I noticed that he was reading. I didn't really think of him as a reader. He wasn't too smart, and he was definitely not as smart as me. I walked over to him. "What book are you reading?" I asked.

He looked up with a big smile. "Come on," he whispered while patting the ground next to him. People stopped talking to me, especially in public, so I was a little confused. I wasn't sure if he wanted me to sit next to him, but I did. He scooted over much closer, and held the book up in front of us. It wasn't so bad, our sides pressing together, but I felt a little uneasy. It was kind of like I was cheating on Peeta, but I knew I wasn't so I continued.

When I looked at the book, I was even more confused. He was reading The Complete Works of Dr. Seuss. I guessed that made more sense then him reading Percy Jackson or something. "Don't you just love green eggs and ham?" whispered Gale into my ear. His hot breath sent shivers down my spine.

"So, anyways dude, I came over to ask you what you were going to tell me yesterday."

He shrugged. "It doesn't matter." I raised an eyebrow at him. He continued, "So, are you, like, with that Peeta kid?" I nodded a little hesitantly. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks," I whispered. I got up and left Gale there. I just knew he was watching me as I left.

At lunch that day, Peeta and I were rubbing our legs together again. Like usual, we were both wearing shorts. It was a nice feeling, skin to skin contact in public. When I looked around-I've been doing that a lot-I saw Gale watching our legs. He didn't notice me looking at him because he was just so concentrated on our legs. I didn't really think anything of it because Gale was nice.

After eating, I went to the indoor basketball court with Peeta. We sat in the bleachers. Basketball season wouldn't start for months, so Peeta and I were alone. I stole a quick kiss before we started on homework. I had more time on my hands after school because I didn't have football practice, but I wanted to devote most of my time to Peeta. Homework was just a waste of time.

"Hey, Cato," whispered Peeta. He scooted closer to me. If he was any closer he would've been in my lap. "I want to meet your family. I mean, you've met mine."

I nodded. "Sure, baby, but it's just me and my mother. My parents got divorced and left with my younger brother."

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I don't know what I would do if my father and brothers just left." I tried to give him a smile. I hated when people apologized and say something nice when you tell them something sad. I was over it. I didn't need another apology. "I still want to come."

"Sure. My mom's cooking dinner tonight. You should come." I told him. He grabbed my hand and nodded, so I guessed he was coming. I pulled out my phone and called my mom. She said that she always wanted to meet this mysterious Peeta that I've been spending all my time with.

"Hey, Peeta."

"Yeah?"

I paused. "Do you think I should tell my mom... about us?"

"Well, my mom doesn't know that I'm gay, but my dad and brothers do. When I told them about _us_, they all congratulated me. My brothers said that when they went to Panem High you were cool."

"Why not you're mom?" I asked.

He sighed. "My mom is homophobic. She comes from this strict Christian family, and she's just uptight in general. You know, my dad didn't want to marry her. He actually wanted to marry Katniss's mom, but he settled for mine when Katniss's parents got married."

I nodded my head. "I think my mom's a Christian. I don't know. She's not religious, and I try to not think about religion, politics, or peaches."

"Peaches?" he asked me.

"They're evil. I don't want to talk about it." I answered. He laughs as I steal another kiss. "You know, Peeta, we have an hour until lunch is over. We should go behind the bleachers and-" I couldn't finish my statement because Peeta was dragging me behind the bleachers. He was eager. I, on the other hand, wanted to take things slow, but taking things too slow is never a good idea.

We made out for about half an hour. Then, we stopped as we heard a basketball bounce behind us. When I looked, I saw Gale with his mouth wide open. He must've been surprised to see us, so he probably dropped the ball. He managed to get out, "You guys have to be way more careful. I've caught you dudes doing romantic stuff twice already."

I readjusted my glasses and gave him a shrug. Peeta and I left after that. We still had some time before class, so we went back to the dining hall and sat down. Fox- I mean Jessie, Clove, and Katniss were still there. Peeta started chatting up Clove, and Jessie joined in soon after. I knew that now was my chance. Now was my chance to ask Katniss about Gale.

"Hey, Katniss,"

She looked at me. "What's up, Cato?"

I shifted uncomfortably. "I was just wondering. Is there, like I don't know, a secret about Gale?"

She gave me a hard and long look. "Why?"

"Well, you see, he was going to tell me, but then he saw that I was with Peeta and he chickened out. He asked me if you had told me, so you must know right?" I asked.

She sighed. She scooted closer to me, and when no one was paying attention she whispered, "You see, there's a reason I don't hang out with Gale. We say we're dating, but we're not. He's just using me. He... he's gay too."

I couldn't believe my ears. Gale was gay? This whole time I've known him he was gay? He couldn't _really_ be gay though, could he? I used to sleep over at his house. We would get drunk together. Did he know he was gay then? Then, my eyes widened with realization. He was so focused on me. He was nice to me when everyone else wasn't. Why would he want to tell me he's gay? What did he think was happened in the library, when he whispered in my ear? There was only one answer, only one reason.

Gale Hawthorne was in love... with me.

**AN: Sorry this was so late!**


	4. Sunflowers

The Boy Who Knows

LabRat3000

Chapter 4: Sunflowers

After I drove Peeta home on Tuesday, I did my homework and decided to go to Clove's house. She might be able to give me some advice on the whole 'Gale loving me' thing. When I drove over there, she was outside talking on the phone. "Then I turned around and kicked the mango in the dude's- Oh! I have to go. Ttyl."

"Hey Clove," I greeted sadly.

"What's wrong?" she asked me.

She scooted over, and I sat next to her. "I have this issue."

"Oh, are you talking about how your lips are too thin or how your nose is too-"

"Clove! No, nothing like... my lips are too thin?" Clove nodded. "Whatever! That's not why I came to talk to you. You see, I'm having boy trouble." I whispered the last part.

"Did Peeta do that thing where he takes a watermelon and-"

"No, Clove! What are you even talking about? Peeta's perfect, but... Katniss's boyfriend, Gale, has a crush on me."

Clove squinted her eyes at me. "Well, do you like him back?"

I was hurt. "I like Peeta! I might even love Peeta. I mean, I don't know if I love him or not because it's only been a few days, but I might! Gale, on the other hand, likes me. I want to know how to get rid of him."

"Look, Cato," Clove started, "just tell him that you don't like him like that."

I looked at the time. _7:18._ I had to pick up Peeta for dinner tonight. "Thanks, Clove, see you tomorrow. Bye,"

"Bye. Oh! If saying you don't like him doesn't work, tell him you have an STD." She gave me a quick hug before retreating to her house.

I picked Peeta up soon after. He was all dressed up for dinner with my mother and me. He gave me a quick kiss as he hopped into my car.

It only took a few minutes to get home. My mom must've been getting dressed up. She loved to dress up. The table was already set, so I told Peeta to sit down. Peeta and I sat down next to each other as we started rubbing our legs together. I laughed. "We're not in public." I whispered as I kissed his neck. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, so I stopped.

My mom marched into the kitchen. "Oh my goodness! You're here! Why didn't you call me?" She had on a polkadot dress that made her look a little younger. She brought over the food and sat down. "Hi Peeta, I'm Cato's mother, but call me Darcy. I hope you like shrimp pasta!"

Peeta smiled back at my mother. "Hi Miss Darcy, thanks for having me, and I love shrimp pasta!" She laughed a little as she served us. Peeta took only a few minutes to eat most of it. "This is amazing! You know, I'm a chef too. Although, I'm more of a baker."

"Oh! Say, don't you work in that bakery downtown?" asked mom. Peeta nodded. "I love your cupcakes. I always bring them to the office for everyone!"

Peeta laughed modestly. "I make the cupcakes, so thanks. I also decorate all the food."

"Will you teach Cato? He can't even boil water or make ice." They both laughed together this time... at me. At least they were bonding.

I was eating silently, so I finished my plate quickly. "Mom, so, there was another reason I wanted Peeta to come over." I grabbed his hand under the table. She gave me a confused look, and I blurted out, "We're dating."

She paused for what seemed like forever. I mentally slapped myself. Why did I blurt out like that? "Okay, cool."

I sighed with relief. "You aren't mad? You aren't going to kick me out?"

She rolled her eyes. "I still love you, Cato! I mean, _duh_!"

Peeta brought our held hands above the table as he kissed me. My mom noticed that we were all done eating, so she picked up the plates and started doing the dishes.

"Your mom's so cool!" whispered Peeta.

Peeta asked if he could sleep over, and my mom agreed. She let us sleep in the same bed if we promised not to do anything 'funny.' I knew that just sleeping with him was a big step, even without the sex. I agreed though because this, for some reason, seemed very important to him.

We stripped down to our boxers and got into bed. Peeta hugged me tightly. The feeling of his chest against my chest was nice. He was warm, smooth, and chiseled. He may not look it, but he had nicely defined abs. He rested his head on my shoulder, even though he had a perfectly good pillow. His hair tickled my neck, but I didn't mind. We held hands while sleeping, and I knew that I had deep feelings for Peeta. I decided that even though Gale was nice, strong, and cool, I wanted to date Peeta. Peeta was nice, strong, and the coolest person ever.

When I woke up the next morning, I saw Peeta sleeping on top of me. He must've rolled onto me while he was sleeping. His face was on my chest, and I could feel his breath. I grabbed his waist and brought him up to my face. I kissed him, but he was still sound asleep. I kissed both of his eyes, and they started to open. I smiled up at him as he woke up, and he smiled back. I felt something poke my waist, and Peeta started blushing.

"Looks like someone's excited to see me." I joked. This must've been very awkward for him. Even though we were dating it still kind of felt like we were strangers. I gave him a kiss as he got off of me.

"Well, you see, I had a dream that we were on this beach and... we were 'playing.'" he explained. I smiled as I noticed that all we had on were boxers. Then, I realized that Peeta didn't have a change of clothes for school today.

"You're going to wear some of my clothes to school right?" I asked him. He agreed as I gave him my favorite clothes: a dark red button up, and some dark khaki's. They were a bit baggy on him. I wore these in public a lot, so people might recognize that Peeta was wearing my clothes. I don't know if it's because I just woke up, but I wanted people to know. Of course, even if I wanted to tell everyone, I couldn't. Peeta wouldn't be ready to come out to everyone because his mother would eventually find out.

We both took showers. Peeta asked if he could shower with me, but I had to refuse. We took separate showers, but we had enough time. Since we slept at 9:30 pm, we woke up pretty early. I think it was about 6:20 am when we woke up. I usually woke up at 7 and leave for school at 7:30.

During my free period that day, Gale came up to me. I sat behind this bookshelf against the wall, so he put down his bag and sat next to me. "Hey, what's up Pinky-Toe?" I blushed at my nickname. No one had called me that since seventh grade. In middle school, I told somebody my name was Cato, but they must've misheard me because they called me Pinky-Toe. I think that person might have been Gale. "Did you know that a person's personality can be distinguished by the music they listen to?"

I looked at him and stared into his dark, mysterious chocolate eyes. He definitely had a crush on me. "That's interesting, but I have something more serious to tell you. I don't like you... I mean, not in _that_ way."

He looked at me with a deep, hard look for a while. He responded, "You will... soon. I'm not giving up, man. I've been in love with you for a year now. Ever since you spent three days looking for my hamster in eighth grade. I was so happy when you found it. Do you know that you were also the only person at school who remembered my birthday last year?"

I totally knew what he was talking about. Gale came to school and didn't talk to anyone that day, so I called his mom to ask what was wrong. She told me that he lost his hamster, so I told her to tell him that I'd spend the whole week-end to find it. I went to his house to look for it, and he didn't even know I was there. It wasn't until I found it hiding in the kitchen that he realized that I'd been at his house all week-end. His mom told him how I had called her and searched, I think. I didn't know that that day was also his birthday, but I found it to be a lucky coincidence.

"Look, Gale, I know that that's a really good reason to have a crush on me, actually that's a perfect reason, but I don't feel the same way."

Gale nodded. I smiled, but the gesture faded when he continued, "I know that you don't. That's why I'm going to have to change your mind, and," He pulled out a sunflower, "it starts with this."

I didn't know how he knew about my obsession with sunflowers, but he must've. I took the flower, and played with it. I don't know why I loved sunflowers, but I did. "I love it, but I still don't _love_ you."

He chuckled. "I wasn't expecting you to have feelings for me already." Just like that, he walked away.

I sighed as I asked myself what I just got into. I knew Gale, so I knew that he was determined to get what he wants. He wasn't going to stop. Maybe I _should've_ told him that I had an STD.

Lunch was worse, though. Peeta sat next to me, and Clove sat on the other side. Katniss and Thresh were spending a lot of time together, so they basically ignored us. Foxface, I mean Jessie, was quietly eating. At first, it was kind of boring, so I announced, "I'm getting contacts soon." No one seemed to care that much, so I changed the topic. "I heard that the type of music you listen to says something about your personality. I just fell in love with Lil' Wayne and Eminem. What about you guys?"

Peeta was the first to volunteer. "I love Ke$ha." Everyone stared at him, but Clove saved him by continuing.

"I love Blood on the Dance Floor." she announced. I didn't know who that was, but they sounded like emo losers.

Foxface went up next. "I love this girl I heard on youtube. Her name is Jacqueline." I didn't know who that was either.

We must've gotten Katniss and Thresh's attention because Katniss informed us, "I like a lot of rock, like the Beatles."

Everyone waited for Thresh to answer, but he didn't. We didn't force him to answer. "Okay, so this is what I think that this says about us. Peeta's a slut, Clove's an emo, Katniss is out of sync with current pop culture, and I don't even know who Fo- _Jessie_ likes. I'm cool though." After hearing that, Clove, Katniss, Thresh, and Foxface, I mean _Jessie_, got up.

Peeta and I were the only ones left at the table. "You know, Cato, you weren't very far off with your predictions. It's just, you can be very mean and judgmental. Clove is used to people calling her emo, but she's probably hurt that _you_ would call her that. She's not, but even if she was there's nothing wrong with that. I know that's you're probably used to calling different people names and stuff, but now you're one of us."

I had time before lunch, so after saying goodbye to Peeta I sped off to apologize to everyone. I started with the easiest, Jessie. She forgave me. After her, I went to Katniss. She was with Thresh in the theater. It was dark. I told her I was sorry, and she did the same. She said that I wasn't wrong, but I continued my apology anyway.

Lastly, I went to apologize to Clove. I figured that she would be the hardest to find, and I was right. I couldn't find her at all. I didn't really know that much about her, to be honest. Our friendship was kind of rushed. I decided to just call her, but after a ring it went to voicemail. "Hey, Clove, it's Cato. I just want to tell you how sorry I am. I shouldn't've called you that. I'm not better than you, and I wouldn't be even if you were emo. I was just being, well, judgmental.

I couldn't do much more than that, so I just continued on with the day. AP Statistics with Jessie was fun. I had religion after that. The teacher was actually one of my mom's best friends, so I hated her. The last class of the day was AP biology, and that was always boring.

After school, I checked my phone and saw that Clove had texted me. "_Srry, just PMSing. i 4give u._"

I responded with, "_tmi, but thanks_."

Clove had stopped driving home with me because she said that walking was healthier. Peeta, on the other hand, was glad to spend the time with me. That day, though, I regretted driving Peeta home because taped all over my car there were about 1,000 sunflowers.

There was a note under a windshield wiper. "_Do you love me yet? -Gale xoxo_."

Peeta snatched the note away from me, and soon after reading it he tore it up. I guess he was the jealous type. "Please... explain." His voice was dangerous.


	5. Party Peeta

The Boy Who Stares

LabRat3000

_**RECAP**: Peeta and I told my mom that they we're dating. Gale announced that he would try and win me over. One way Gale tries to do this is by giving me a bunch of gifts. He taped a bunch of sunflowers all over my car and left a note. Peeta snatched the note and asked me for an explanation._

Chapter 5: Party Peeta

Peeta glared at me impatiently. I panicked and blurted out, "He loves me!" Peeta was surprised and confused, so I elaborated. "I mean, he has deep feelings for me. He's made many attempts to try to get me to go on a date with him, but I refused all of them. Don't worry, Peeta, I can handle it."

Peeta ripped off a sunflower. "I believe you." he replied. He seemed to have calmed down. We spent at least half an hour removing all of the sunflowers. I looked around for Gale's car. I knew that he'd still be at school because he had football practice. The team had been doing much worse without me. Anyways, I saw his car and put all the sunflowers on top of it.

The next day, I picked Peeta and Clove up to go to school. Clove said that, since I was still wearing a cast, she would drive. Letting her take the wheel was a big mistake. She drove like she was on crack or something! She went twice the speed limit, so I was definitely not letting her take the wheel of my car again. Peeta and I were in the back cuddling. We would only stop whenever Clove would make a sudden stop, so we stopped about every 30 seconds or so.

When I got to school, I was sad to part with Peeta. I wasn't, however, sad to part with Clove's driving. I opened my locker and found a sunflower and a box of chocolates. I read the note attached to it. '_See you in the library._' It didn't say who it was from, but I really didn't need a signature to know.

When my free period did come up, I hid in the library. The library was the only place you could actually settle down in during a free period, so I really didn't have any other option. Instead of my usual spot, I sat behind an old shelf in the corner. The shelf held a lot of dictionaries, but nobody ever used them so they moved the shelf to the corner. I started finishing all my homework. Today, I was determined not to have to take home any homework.

Gale, unfortunately, found me. He sat down next to me in the corner. I tried to get up, but he made it impossible. Behind me was a wall, to the right of me was another wall, to the left of me was a shelf, and in front of me was Gale. He was holding another sunflower and another box of chocolates. He shoved them into my backpack without saying a word before turning to me. "Hey baby,"

"Hey, creeper," I replied. I was about to take the gifts out of my bag, but Gale grabbed my hands.

"Eager to eat the chocolates? I don't blame you." Gale laughed.

I pulled my hand away. "Look, Gale, these presents are nice and stuff, but I really don't want them. I don't want you either. You're a great friend, but that's it. I think it's really nice that you think I'm so amazing, but I find Peeta even more amazing." During the middle of my little speech I had grabbed his hand and had started rubbing circles into it.

"Look, Cato, I like you way more than Peeta. If I had kissed you before you even befriended him and all those other losers, you would be mine. I regret waiting so long, but I can't hold myself back any longer. I like you, a lot. I think you like me too. Why else would you have searched three days for my thought-to-be-dead hamster?"

I looked at the ground while answering, "I don't know why I did that, but... I know that Peeta is the one that fills my dreams. He's the man I want to date."

Gale got up. He left after informing me, "When you realize that I'm the one, I'll be waiting. Expect more sunflowers."

I had to skip lunch that day to finish up a science test.

After school, Peeta said that he had a lot of homework, so I really didn't bother asking him to come over. I stopped over at Clove's to talk about the whole Gale thing. She was on the phone... again. "...and she grabbed the deer by the neck and told her to apologize to Obam-."

I wondered who she was talking too. "So, Clove, Gale says that we were meant for each other, and he won't stop trying to get me to go out with him! What do I do?"

She thought for a while. "Did you tell him you had a STD?"

I stared at her with my mouth open. "I'm not telling him I have a STD, Clove."

She shrugged. "It always works for me. I got nothing, but hey! I'll talk to my people, and we'll come up with something." I wondered who her people were, but I was too scared to ask.

When I got home I found a bouquet of sunflowers on the porch. My mom's car was in the driveway, so I figured that she got off of work early. When I walked into the living room, I saw my mother watching TV. "Hey, Cato, so I got a call from Gale today. He asked me if I would give him permission to be your boyfriend, if you wanted to be. I told him about Peeta, but he says that he already knew. Gale's a really nice and handsome boy that will take care of you well, if you decide to go to college together or something. It's not that I don't like Peeta, but I think you should give Gale a chance. The poor young boy has waited years for you."

"Mom!" I screamed. "I'm dating Peeta! I can't just go on a date with Gale! It doesn't work like that." She shrugged and continued watching her soap opera. I couldn't believe my mom wanted me to date Gale!

The next day, Friday, I picked Peeta up a little early. We had decided that we could go to Starbucks for breakfast. I asked him if he wanted to come over tonight, and he accepted. He had a party to go to before, though. I waited for him to invite me to the party, but he didn't.

Gale was absent that day. I wondered why before I mentally slapped myself. I shouldn't care. Lunch was also a little weird. Thresh and Katniss were rubbing their legs under the table. I only saw that because I dropped my wallet under the table. I smirked at them, but they didn't know that I knew about _them_. Clove was begging Foxface to lend her this dress. I turned to Peeta.

"Hey, baby, so I was wondering, what's it like being a freshman. I mean, you guys are so short that I could jump over you while you're standing up." It's true. Their grade was abnormally short. On the other hand, my grade was abnormally tall.

Peeta laughed. "I know right? I was wondering why I haven't hit my extra growth spurt yet to become six feet tall. I think it's like that so we have to look up to you." answered Peeta. We laughed together. He leaned forward to kiss me, but I reminded him that we were in public.

After school, I waited for Peeta to come over after the party that he didn't invite me to. I was, however, not expecting him to be drunk. He strode over from his car. He knocked on the door and then my forehead after I opened the door. I could taste the beer when I leaned down and kissed him.

"Are you drunk?" I asked him. I already knew the answer.

"Yeeees." He laughed as if it the funniest thing in the world. "I was thinking that I could get you drunk too. Then we could have sex!"

"What!" I yelled. I flinched, but he grabbed me again.

"That's when I shove my-"

"I know what it is! I'm not having sex with you. Not now." I told him. He pouted.

"Well, you know, if we're not going to have sex then what's the point? We should break up."

"You're drunk Peeta, this isn't how you truly feel." I tried to calm him down.

"No! This _is_ how I feel. I don't need you. Sex is something I can get from anybody! You're just looks, but a lot of people have looks. Maybe they aren't as good as yours, but at least they'll have sex. We're done. Good-bye." He slammed the door in my face as he left me there, crying.

My first instinct was to call Clove. I took out my phone, but it was dead. I went to my room, but I was shocked when I got up there. Everything was cleaned and had a sunflower on it. When I found my charger, I waited for my phone to turn on. I had one new text. '_Thank ur mom for letting me clean ur room! ily. Have i won u over yet?_'

Then, without thinking I called Gale. Gale answered almost immediately. "Hello, Cato,"

I sobbed while replying, "We should go on a date."

He paused. "Are you crying? What's wrong." he asked.

I wiped away the tears from my cheek. "Let's go on a date, tonight."

Gale enthusiastically replied, "I'll be over in a sec."

**AN: OMG Peeta! Why would you get drunk! Tell me what you think! Sorry it's kind of short.**


	6. Hospital ity

The Boy Who Stares

LabRat3000

_**Recap**: Peeta showed up at Cato's house drunk, and he broke up with Cato because Cato wouldn't put out. Cato cried and called Gale. He told Gale to come over._

Chapter 6: Hospital ity

Gale showed up as soon as I got done taking a shower. All I had was a towel around my waste. "Really? I was planning on having the date first, but if you want to go straight to the sex..."

I let myself laugh at his joke. I playfully slapped his chest. It was like a rock. "Let me get dressed! My mom said that she wouldn't be home for another four hours. Let's watch a movie. I have microwavable popcorn in the pantry."

As I went to get dressed, I thought of how wrong this was. Then I remembered where Peeta was at the time. He was off getting laid, so going on a date didn't seem too bad. I heard the microwave, and when it stopped I was just about done getting dressed. Well, getting dressed was an exaggeration. All I did was put on a pair of sweatpants. I thought about putting on a shirt, but I never wore a shirt while sleeping.

Gale changed as well. When I went downstairs he was in a pair of gym shorts and a tight t-shirt. He was looking through the movies trying to pick one. I knelt over next to him as I helped him out. I saw my favorite movie, Cinderella, and we popped that in. To be honest, I loved all the classical Disney movies.

Gale saw my choice and laughed. He turned the lights off and we cuddled on the couch. I laid on top of Gale. His hand ran up and down my back. I don't know how, but by the time Cinderella's fairy godmother showed up Gale and I were making out. I could feel myself getting hard, and since I was wearing sweats without underwear Gale felt it too. He didn't say anything, but after a while he just stopped. "Well, that's my cue. I'll be going now."

I laughed, but I stopped when I realized he wasn't kidding. "Wait, what?"

He smirked at me. "The movie's over. I kissed you, and now I can leave."

I was surprised. "Don't you want to have sex with me?"

It was his turn to look surprised. "No, I came here on a date. I'm not a booty call." He looked like he was getting mad.

"Wait!" I yelled. "Sorry, it's just... I wouldn't put out, so Peeta broke up with me right before you came.'

Gale came back to the couch and pulled me into a tight hug. "Tell me all about it."

I gave him a weak, but genuine smile. I wouldn't cry because that would be uncool. "He's always been okay with me wanting to wait, but today he came over drunk. I told him that I wasn't ready, but he wouldn't have it. He said that he was breaking up with me and that he was going to fuck with someone else tonight instead. He was drunk so I know he didn't mean it, but it still hurt. That's when I went upstairs and saw my cleaned room and the sunflowers."

Gale kissed me one more time. "Look, Cato, it's obvious that I don't have a chance with you. I don't know if you realize this, but you moaned Peeta's name every three seconds while we made out. So because of that, I'll give you straight advice. Peeta was drunk, and he'll probably pass out before cheating on you, just saying. He probably won't even remember tonight." I looked into Cato's eyes as he finished. "I thought I loved you, but I guess it was just a crush." He started tearing up. "I'm sad, but I'll get over it."

"Thanks-" I started, but he wasn't done.

"I just don't get why you don't want to have sex with Peeta?"

I thought for a minute. "Well, it's because I want to take things slow."

"Why?" he asked.

I thought for longer than a minute. "I don't want to rush into a relationship with him because..." I paused to think for some more time.

Gale finished my sentence for me. "...because you think that he only wants you for sex. Yeah, it's a common insecurity thing. Trust me, he doesn't. I'm sure because everyone loves your great personality."

"Then why am I not popular!" I yelled.

Gale gave me a hard look. "You know, people never thought you were a loser. _You_ thought you were. _You_ sat by yourself, and _you_ stopped talking to us. You were so quick to judge yourself that you didn't realize that no one cared that you broke your arm and that you're smart."

I stopped to think about what he just said. It wasn't until he left me that I realized that everything he said was true. I was just so sure people would think of me as a loser. I didn't regret it though because I met Clove, Jessie, Katniss, Thresh, and best of all Peeta.

I ran upstairs to get my phone. I knew I had to call Peeta back. I noticed that Clove had called me 12 times. I called her back immediately.

"Hello? Clove?"

"Cato!" she panicked, "Where were you!"

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" I asked. I was starting to get worried.

"Yes, I'm fine, but..." she answered. I heard a sob. "Peeta isn't."

I tried to stay calm, but I really couldn't. "Clove! Tell me what happened."

"See, he was driving home from your house. He got there all fine and stuff, but he was drunk. I don't know, but he just collapsed on his porch. He hit his head and- Just get down to Katniss's mom's hospital! The one on Tracker Jacker Road!" she yelled.

I got into my car and drove. I got over as quickly as possible. Katniss was outside, waiting for me. "What's wrong with Peeta?" I asked.

"His mom said that he went to this summer camp reunion or something, and someone spiked the punch. He passed out and hit his head." informed Katniss

I knew he wouldn't get drunk on purpose. He's a safe kid. "Where is he?"

"Thresh and Jessie are inside. They're waiting for you, and they'll take you there. I have to stay out here because my mom's partner, Dr. Annie, is coming."

I said a quick thank you as I rushed upstairs with Thresh and Fox- Jessie.

When I was upstairs I saw Peeta's family. His mother was yelling at some nurse about money, but his father and brothers ran up to me. "Clove's in there. She wanted some time to be with him, but she said that if you came up you could go in." They talked only to me, so we assumed that only I could go in.

I opened the door to see Clove and a bandaged and sleepy Peeta talking. Peeta looked up at me. "Cato, I want to know what I said to you before I left."

Instead of answering him, I went up to hug him. Clove got in the middle. "Don't touch him. He might have a concussion and he definitely needs stitches."

He looks at me expectantly, so I answered. "You wanted to have sex, but I said no... Then you broke up with me." I whispered the last part.

Peeta's eyes widened. "I'm still a little drunk, and my head hurts, but even now I know that I need to date you."

"I know. You were drunk, probably for your first time, so I'll forget that whole conversation."

He smiled up at me, but Clove wouldn't let it go. "Wait... did he bring the watermelon?"

"Clove! Shut up!" he yelled.

"Wait... what does he do with _the_ watermelon?" I asked. This wasn't the first time she mentioned him being weird with watermelons, so I wanted to know.

"He-" She was interrupted when Peeta threw a remote at her. "Ow!" She screamed.

As much as I thought that this was funny, I felt a little guilty. "Clove, can you leave for a second?"

She nodded and rushed out, clutching her arm. Peeta raised an eyebrow. "What's up? You know, besides me almost fainting to my death."

I took a deep breath. "I have to be honest with you. When you broke up with me, you said that you were going to find another quick fuck. I got so upset that I called Gale and we went on a date-thing. I really don't know what it was. We kissed, but I thought of you the whole time. I even moaned your name according to him. He said that he would stop chasing me, so that's good... You're being really quiet."

Peeta didn't say anything for a minute. Then, he worked up enough courage to say, "I don't know if I want to break up with you."

I gaped at him. "What!"

He shrugged. "Look, thanks for telling me, but honestly I don't know if I can forgive you. I'll be back at school next monday, so give me the week to decide."

I was taken aback. "Peeta! Please, no, it was a stupid decision. I thought you were having sex with another dude! You can't do th-"

"Cato, I need a week. Good-bye."

**AN: Another short and late chapter. Sorry, but review people! It gets me to write faster. Expect a longer chapter soon.**


	7. Merging

The Boy Who Stares

LabRat3000

_**Recap****:** Cato invited Gale over and they kissed, but Cato was still thinking about Peeta. Gale gave up trying to win Cato's heart, and he revealed that the only reason Cato was uncool is because Cato made himself out to be that way. Peeta fainted and hit his head, so Cato had to visit him in the hospital. Cato confessed that he was on a date with Gale, so Peeta gets mad and said that he needed time to think about breaking up with Cato._

Chapter 7: Merging

The day after visiting Peeta I stayed in bed. My phone kept ringing, probably Clove, but I didn't answer. I didn't feel like talking to anyone. I was so angry at Peeta because this was all his fault in the first place. I was so prepared to hang out with him, but he just _had_ to come over drunk. My mom brought me lunch, but she told me that she wouldn't be home for dinner. She made me promise that I was going to eat something.

I pouted, slept, and ate ice cream for the rest of the weekend. I wanted to just skip school on Monday, too, but I couldn't. I had a stupid Geography test.

When I got to school on Monday, Clove jumped me. "What happened! Why isn't Peeta telling me? What did you do?"

I tried pushing her off, but to no avail. Eventually, I just succumbed. "He broke up with me."

Clove got off quickly and helped me up. "Oh! Cato! Are you okay? Why did he do it?"

I gulped before answering. "He broke up with me because I.. I cheated on him. You-" I had to stop to clutch my cheek after Clove slapped me. She raised her hand again. "No! Wait! Listen. I did it because I thought he was having sex with some other men. Besides, it was just a couple of kisses."

She looked at me for what felt like forever. I remembered her telling me not to hurt him, and the danger she promised felt so real. "Look, Cato, I have slapped many men, and pandas, and celery over the years, so I won't hesitate to do it again. Don't hurt him." I was about to say something, but she continued. "Besides, Peeta's a virgin. He's been 'saving himself' for someone special. I doubt he will ever have sex in the next five years."

"I'm a virgin too!" I shout back. Clove raised an eyebrow at me, intimidating me into stepping back. "Well, with men at least." I added.

Clove checked the time on her golden watch. "Hey, so I have to go, but I'll see you at lunch. Bye!" I waved goodbye, but she must've been really late because she _ran_.

Gale walked up to me right after she deserted me. "Hey, have you seen Marvel?" he asked. I shook my head. "He told me that he had to leave and ran away a minute ago, but he forgot his math notebook."

I raised an eyebrow at him. I guessed he saw what just happened with me and Clove and tried to make a joke, but it wasn't really that funny. We decided to walk to the library together for our free period. Gale was actually really cool now that he stopped chasing after me. Marvel had to come to the library anyways because he shared the free period with us.

When Marvel did come into the library soon after us. His cheek had a blue tint, like he wiped off blue lipstick. He walked over to us because Gale called him over. He locked eyes with me. I saw a little nervousness, and he didn't try to hide it.

"Hey, Cato, you're like a genius at math now right?" he asked me. I was a little surprised. Marvel had completely ignored me for two weeks now.

"Um... yeah, it's easy if you rem-"

"Yeah, so can you explain me a little about these stupid conic formulas?" he asked. He sat down next to me boldly. That's how it started. I felt my life turning around, at least in my head. I thought about what Gale told me. He said that I was the only one who thought I was a loser. I tutored Marvel for the whole period. By the time we were done, he was an expert on hyperbolas. I wouldn't be surprised if he could wake up in the middle of night and find the transverse axis of any hyperbola.

At lunch, I saw Marvel and his girlfriend Glimmer waving to me. They wanted me to sit next to them! Gale and Helen were there. Helen is this great swimmer. Her older brother, Finnick Odair, was a swimming legend. He might be the coach of the swimming team, but I don't really care. Swimming's not one of my favorite sports. Helen's hot though, and if I wasn't gay I would totally be all over her.

I sat next to them without a second thought. Actually, I did think about sitting with Clove, but it wouldn't feel the same without Peeta. Everyone greeted me like I was never a loser, but if Gale was right I never was. I was so happy, but sad too. It was a bittersweet moment for me.

Marvel and Glimmer did what they always did. They made fun of losers. They made fun of the principal, Mr. Snow, but then they started making fun of the students. The senior class, my class, only has 24 people in it, so they didn't really have much material. It was always the same thing. "Clove is so weird now! What made her so emo? Remember when everyone had a crush on her! Foxface is probably planning our deaths right now. Look at her giant nose! Can she even talk? Thresh probably can't talk either. Katniss is so suicidal! Gale why are you even dating her? I heard she liked to kill things for fun."

Gale was talking to Helen and me about something else though. He talked about some plays in football. He's really good at tactics. Helen was listening enthusiastically, but I wasn't. I turned around and saw Clove, Jessie, Thresh, and Katniss laughing. They looked like they were having so much more fun.

I did something that I would never had done two weeks ago. I asked Gale if he wanted to move tables. Gale looked at me for what seemed like forever. He slowly nodded and picked up his tray. Helen immediately followed Gale's example. I saw right in between Jessie and Katniss. Glimmer and Marvel probably didn't want to sit alone, so they followed too. The table was a little crowded, but everybody fit. Marvel sat next to Clove, and Gale sat next to Katniss. Helen frowned and sat on the other side of Gale, right next to Glimmer.

Clove didn't stop talking to address us. Instead, she restarted her story, looking at all of us. I zoned out thinking about how all of us were eating. I heard the ending though. "...and I took the phone and looked at the logo. The logo on the quiz that he didn't get was nike." Everyone laughed, even Glimmer. I figured that she was referring to the new app that Jessie told me to download. "He didn't even get McDonalds! The only two that were completed were Barbie and Hello Kitty."

The rest of lunch went by like this. I felt sad when the bell rang, but I felt a little better when I found out that I had AP Statistics with Jessie. It was officially my favorite class.

At the end of the day, right before I was about to fall asleep, I realized that today wasn't as fun as it should've been. It was because Peeta wasn't there right by my side.

The next day was just as great as the day before. All nine of us ate lunch together again. Marvel left early to go ask Coach Johanna something about football. Clove left early too, but no one dared to ask why. Gale wanted to go to the campus store, and Helen enthusiastically followed him. Glimmer was starting to be very nice to the 'losers.' She and Jessie got along very well, but Glimmer kept calling her Foxface.

I did see something weird though. When I was walking to art class, I saw Marvel and Clove sitting and talking to each other on a bench in the back of the school. No one ever went there, so I usually would use that route as a shortcut to get to the Art Room. Then, right before I was about to walk over and say hey, I saw Marvel lean in and kiss Clove.

I wasn't too surprised at that. I was a little surprised that Marvel liked goth girls, but not that he would kiss one. Hot or not, Marvel was a big whore, but so was Glimmer. That's what made their relationship work. What surprised me was that Clove kissed back. I immediately turned around and went to the Art Room the normal way. I was not interested in getting involved with Clove's love life.

A couple of days after that, I decided to confront Clove. I could see that she thought Marvel actually liked her and not her body. I wasn't too sure how to bring it up casually though, but I tried my best.

"Hey, Clove."

"Hey, Cato." she responded with a smile.

"So, you know I had a dream where you were sleeping with Marvel, but you wanted to date him. Marvel only liked you for your body though, so the dream-me came to stop you before you got hurt. Isn't that hilarious!" I started laughing, but she glared at me.

"Who fucking told you!" she hissed.

I got serious. I took one step back before continuing though. "Look, I just don't want to see you get hurt. You have to end it... now."

She pushed me against a nearby wall. "Why is it that everybody gets to have a boyfriend but me! I even set you and Peeta up! Whenever it comes to me, though, I have to be single forever! Why don't I deserve someone Cato?"

"Look, Clove, you're right, but Marvel's not who you deserve. You should set your bar a little higher. I know that that dude from 4th Street, Rial, likes you a lot. He's really shy though-" I couldn't continue because she shoved me harder.

"I want Marvel! I have Marvel! Don't tell anyone! Bye!" She gave me one last push before leaving me up against the wall.

I decided to leave her be. Besides, I had my own problems to deal with. I had to worry about Peeta. He said he was coming to school on Monday, so in three days he would tell me if he wanted to break up with me.

This week-end I had nothing planned, but I was sure to go over to Peeta's house on Sunday. I didn't go to see Peeta, though. I gave his mother and father some gifts. It was just stuff like flowers, shampoos, scented oils, and stuff that old people liked. I also got his older brothers some video games like Halo or Madden.

I didn't know if Peeta wanted to see me, so I left his present with his dad. It was the best one I could give. It was a gift basket really. It had a mix-tape that I made for him, some cheese for his bread, hair gel, and a sunflower. They greeted me kindly and made me feel like family even before I gave them presents. Peeta's mom was much nicer than he said she was.

She gave me a big hug before snapping a picture of me on her phone. "I'm taking pictures of all of Peeta's friend. The only other person who I've shot is Clove. She's very... different though, so I'm glad he has a popular, handsome, and smart friend like you."

I couldn't fall asleep that day, but eventually I tired myself thinking about Peeta. I woke up at 6:45 a.m. on Monday because I wanted to be early to pick up Peeta. He was waiting for me, so that means that he woke up early too.

I opened the door for him, and when we were sitting inside my car he spoke. "I liked your bribe, but you can't buy our relationship back with gifts."

"Oh! No no no! That was to say sorry." I pleaded. I turned to him and saw a smirk on his face.

"I was just kidding. Yeah, so I basically died for a whole week without you. We _need_ to get back together. S-" I didn't let him finish because I had pulled up and kissed him to death. He started kissing back, and by the time I needed air I had forgotten that I was ever mad at him. With my good hand I drove to school.

He was a little confused to see all of my old friends at lunch sitting with us. "Yeah, Peeta, we kinda merged while you were gone."

Clove didn't look at me the whole time. She kind of started at Marvel. Foxface squinted at Clove and gave me a knowing look. She widened her eyes and glanced at Clove and Marvel, then back at me. She knew that this needed to stop too.

While Peeta and I went over to the back of the school, where I saw Clove and Marvel, to flirt, I turned to him and whispered in his ear. "Come over to my house tonight Peeta. _I'm ready_."

**AN: Ooh! Cato's "Ready"**

**At least this chapter is long! I won't be able to update as quickly because I have finals to study for, so sorry about that!**


	8. Unprepared

The Boy Who Stares

LabRat3000

**AN: I'm back! I hope you guys haven't forgotten about this story! "Sorry For The Wait" -Lil Wayne.**

_**Recap:**Clove didn't look at me the whole time. She kind of started at Marvel. Foxface squinted at Clove and gave me a knowing look. She widened her eyes and glanced at Clove and Marvel, then back at me. She knew that this needed to stop too._

_While Peeta and I went over to the back of the school. I turned to him and whispered in his ear. "Come over to my house tonight Peeta. I'm ready."_

Chapter 8: Unprepared

Peeta got really shaky after I whispered that to him. He excused himself, and later that day when I dropped him home he ran inside.

I got out my cellphone and called Foxface. At this point, I kind of stopped trying to call her Jessie. "Hey! It's Cato. Clove thinks that Marvel loves her."

"I know. What are we going to do?" she asked.

I paused. "Usually, after Marvel is done with a girl, they're heart broken. This hasn't happened before."

"Ugh! Marvel's disgusting. Wait... he isn't done with Clove. She told me that they're hooking up after school almost everyday."

I had an idea, but it was just way too risky. Getting Glimmer involved was just _way_ too risky. Instead, I suggested, "Why don't we try talking to Marvel."

"That's a great Idea!" she squealed, "Why don't we do it now?"

"Oh! Today won't work. I told Peeta that we'd have s-" I realize that she didn't know about our relationship. "some time to play Call of Duty."

She laughed. "I know that you're dating Peeta, Cato. It's really obvious. The others haven't figured it out, though."

I was glad that we were talking on the phone because I was blushing. "Oh."

She laughed a little more and soon we said goodbye. I hung up and realized that it was 6. Peeta was going to be here very soon. I went to my room to get dressed. I actually did a lot more undressing though. I decided to take a quick shower. When I was done, I put on a towel and waited for Peeta to come. Soon enough, I heard the door bell ring.

I opened the door to find Peeta with flowers and a scented candle. I rolled my eyes at him. He was wearing a polka-dotted bow-tie, a plaid shirt, and khakis. He was completely dressed like a nerd. I didn't really mind because he wouldn't keep them on all night.

"Hey," he piped up as I took the flowers and candle away from him.

"Hey." I said as sexily as I could. I pulled up my towel a little higher, hoping to tease him a little.

Peeta looked at the ground. I gave him a hug, but he pushed me back a little. "C-Cato. I don't know about this. I know I've tried before, but I think that this isn't the right time."

I kiss him. I was kind of hoping that he would say yes, but I knew he wouldn't really. Clove explained me his virginity situation. "It's okay, but you should still sleep over, okay?"

He nodded as I led him to my room. I went to the bathroom to change. When I came out, Peeta was gone. I called him on my phone, but he didn't have his phone with him. It was on my bed.

"Peeta!" I screamed. I was a little scared, but I didn't show it.

I heard a giggle, but I still couldn't see him. It calmed me down a little though. Suddenly, I was tripped and I fell to the ground. I looked around and saw that Peeta was under my bed, laughing. Sometimes I forgot that he was only 15.

I scowled at him, but he just laughed more. When I pulled him up, we fell again. He lied on top of me and our faces were just centimeters apart. I closed that gap and we started to make out.

I heard a car, but I just figured my mom came home early. Instead, the car was Gale's. I only noticed him when he opened my door and screamed in surprise. "Holy rice cake!" Then he just started laughing, seeing how flushed we were.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

He replied, "You left your Civics text book at school, but I see you weren't planning on studying tonight."

Peeta was even more embarrassed than me. He immediately pulled himself, then me, up. "Uh.. Hi Gale."

Peeta then decided that it was time to go home, and Gale left right after. The next morning, when I was picking Peeta up to go to school, I noticed that Peeta was still flushed from last night. He looked a little different. As he walked towards my car I realized that he had headphones in.

"What are you listening to?" I asked him. He took out his headphones and played the song on his iPhone.

"It's called Roman in Moscow by Nicki Minaj." he replied.

"Ew. Dude, she's nasty and weird."

He pouted in this super cute way. "Look, she's really good. She has a great voice, and so do her alter egos. My favorite's this gay dude named ro-"

"Whatever man." I leaned over and kissed him while I stopped at a red light. "If you want real rap then listen to Wiz or Snoop."

"See, I think Nicki Minaj is better than them because she can sing _and_ rap."

I laughed at him, causing him to pout again. "Sure."

Even though it was kind of girly, I let him play Nicki Minaj. When we got to school, he gave me a kiss and we went I separate ways. I was kind of glad because I had other things to focus on... like Clove and Marvel.

As I was walking to homeroom I passed a closet. It was obvious that two people were kissing behind the door. I thought it was Clove and Marvel so I opened the door and saw Katniss and Thresh. I quickly apologized, shut the door, and ran away.

I turned around and saw Helen giving me a questioning look.

During my free period, Gale wouldn't stop giving me a knowing smirk. I was just glad that he was over me enough to laugh.

Marvel came in with Glimmer around his arm. She was so oblivious that it was funny. Glimmer was only dangerous when she hated somebody.

"Hey, Marvel, I need your help finding something." I told him. He was confused, but we left Glimmer and Gale and went to the book shelves.

"Okay, we both know I don't read. What's up?" Marvel asked.

"I know about you and Clove." I informed him.

He just smirked at me. "She was so easy-"

"Dude, it has to stop."

He stared at me. "You have to be kidding. Man, chill,"

"Look, she thinks you love her. She doesn't know that she's just a booty call."

Marvel shrugged. "I don't know. I think I'm going to leave Glimmer for her."

"What the hell!" came a shriek from behind us. I jerked around to see an angry Glimmer. She slapped Marvel. "Who? Why! Is this because I dropped your Ray Bans in your pool? They were fine! I-"

Marvel clutched his cheek. "Glimmer! Don't be such a bitch about this."

Glimmer glared at him, but then she turned to me. I paled. "Did you know about this?"

My eyes widened. "No! Well, I did, but I just told him to stop. I didn't know he was going to break up with you! Seriously!"

She squinted at me before storming away. I ran after her because I didn't want to end up like Gregg. She used to date him when we were in middle school, but he called Glimmer's best friend ugly. Long story short, he had his family move to Europe.

"Look, I don't think he was serious Glimmer. I'm with you on this."

She turned around and I saw tears in her eyes. No one had ever seen Glimmer cry before. She was either overly joyed and seductive or stoic and cold. "Do you know why? Why he's doing this...?"

"He says he likes someone else."

Glimmer practically ran into me. She squeezed the life out of me via a hug. "I honestly just want something like you and Peeta."

I pulled her off me. "What?"

"I just want something like-"

"Peeta and I?"

She nodded her head. "Wait, you guys _are_ dating right?"

"Yes, but how'd you know." I asked her.

She rolled her eyes at me. "It's kind of obvious. I'm pretty sure every girl at this school knows."

"What!" I screamed. The librarian shushed me. "What!' I whispered harshly.

"It's a shame too. I remember us talking about how hot you are."

I stared at her to see if she was kidding, but she wasn't. I excused myself and ran towards the boys bathroom. There wasn't anybody in there. I took out my phone and texted Peeta to come. I waited for only three minutes.

"What?" he asked playfully. "I was in the middle of stuff."

"People know about us. Glimmer told me that most of the girls in this school know." I explained.

He laughed. "Cato, chill." He pulled me into a kiss. We locked eyes. His sea blue eyes were so reassuring. "It's no big deal. My dad and I talked about me coming out. He thinks that I should do it with you. He said that if my mom didn't like it then she could leave."

I gave Peeta another quick kiss, but soon we were making out. Peeta stopped after a minute. "If I don't get back to class then I'll get detention. See you at lunch."

When I went back to the library Marvel was sitting alone. He told me that Gale had to ask Mme. Trinket a question.

"Hey, Cato... do you really think I should stay with Glimmer?"

I nodded. "You both cheat on each other, but usually it's a one time thing. She knows that you've slept with every cheerleader at this school and others, but she doesn't care because she knows you'll come back to her. She's slept with half of the football team, but she only likes you."

"So you're saying that I should date Glimmer so that I can sleep with who ever I want." I sighed. "Oh well... I should probably leave her alone for now. So... can I come over tonight? We can play Call of Duty."

I nodded again. "Of course. You can come over whenever you want Marvel." He smiled at me and at that moment Gale walked in.

At lunch, I met up with Jessie. I told her everything that happened. She told me that she had a plan and left me when Peeta came up to us.

When Helen walked in Katniss got up. Helen told her to sit down and for Gale to listen.

"I want to tell you this, being your friend, I saw your _girlfriend_, Katniss, kissing Thresh in a closet!"

It took a moment for Gale to realize that people expected him to be mad. Unconvincingly, he yelled, "What! That's terrible. Katniss! We need to talk."

Not wanting to get into the middle of this, I turned to Marvel. "My mom said you could sleep over. Wanna?" He gave me a cocky grin.

Peeta pinched my elbow. "Marvel's coming over?" he asked me.

I nodded before whispering in his ear, "Tonight, I'll be playing x-box, but tomorrow I'll be playing _you_." He shivered.

Glimmer pushed open the doors to the cafeteria and Marvel, Gale, and I almost wet ourselves. She marched over to us. "Clove, _darling_, what a nice unibrow you have today!"

Clove stood up. "Excuse me?"

Glimmer laughed. "Oh yeah, My grandma wants that shirt back soon."

Clove's mouth dropped. "_Excuse_ _me_!

"Oops! I forgot to tell you," she turned to the table and gave me a wink, "Clove's a slut."

Clove jumped on Glimmer and they started rolling around. "What's your problem Barbie?"

Glimmer was winning. "My problem is that your sleeping with my boyfriend."

Clove stopped dead in her tracks. The principal, Mr. Snow, came in and broke them up. He called them to his office.

The people who didn't know, like Peeta and Helen, looked at Marvel with disgust. Peeta was actually very upset. "She didn't even tell me. I've told her everything for years. I told her about when you saved me from Brutus right after it happened! Why would she keep this a secret from me?"

I gave Peeta a hug, and I didn't care who was watching. He cried into my shoulder. I saw Marvel watching me from the corner of my eye.

Later that night, Marvel knocked on my door. When I opened it, he walked in and dropped his stuff on my couch. He tackled me, and I wrestled around with him. He got really aggressive and pinned me to the floor. I tried to get up, but he was too strong. I was unprepared when he leaned down and kissed me.

**AN: Uh Oh! Poor Cato has a lot on his mind, and now he has Marvel on his lips! Tell me what you think!**


	9. Marvelous

The Boy Who Stares

LabRat3000

_**Recap:** So Peeta's the one who wants to wait before we do it. Helen outed Katniss's secret relationship with Thresh. Glimmer and Marvel got into a fight because she found out that he was planning on dumping her. Then, Glimmer got into a cat fight with Clove, and they were both called to the principal's office. I tried to help Marvel out by inviting him over, but when he did come over he kissed me!_

Chapter 9: Marvelous

I pushed Marvel off as hard as I could. I was furious! After cheating on Glimmer with Clove, he cheated on both of them with me! "Dude! What the fuck's wrong with you!"

Then, he has the nerve to kiss me again. This kiss was much more needy and lasted longer because his hands were cupping my face. When he pulled away, he searched my eyes. "Your the best person I've ever met Cato."

I blushed, but I was still very upset. I slipped out of his grasp. "Look, Marvel, I can't be with you. First of all, I have a boyfriend. Second of all, I can't be with someone who will cheat on me every three seconds. I seriously think you should go back to Glimmer."

Marvel pulled himself off the floor, and then he helped me up. "It doesn't have to mean anything. I don't care that you have a boyfriend. He doesn't have to-"

I punched Marvel after that. I only punched him in the chest, but it was enough. "Look, Marvel, let's just be friends. Seriously, why would you want to hook up with me?"

He rolled his eyes and pulled me into a tight hug. "Your the only person that cared enough to ever invite me over to their house and let me sleepover. You're seriously the only person that cares about me."

"That's not true! Glimmer cares! If she didn't care then she wouldn't have fought Clove for you." I argued. He shrugged in response. "Look, Marvel, you came over so that we can have fun playing Call of Duty and talking as friends. That's what we're going to do." I handed him a controller and we started playing. It was actually pretty fun, and by the time we were done we forgot about what happened.

We slept pretty early because it was a school night. The couch in my living room was huge, so we both just slept on that. It was big enough for a third person. When I woke up in the morning I saw Marvel was still fast asleep. It was impossible to wake him up. I tried punching him, screaming, and I even threw a bucket of water on him. What woke him up was the smell of breakfast.

When we were ready, we hopped into my car. I told him that I had to pick Peeta up. It didn't take him long to figure out that we were dating. He apologized for yesterday.

Peeta was cautious when he got in my car. I told him that Marvel knew about us, but he didn't relax. Marvel noticed this too because he stayed out of the conversation.

I had AP Statistics with Foxface, Jessie, first. I explained to her everything that had happened. "and in the car this morning it was, like, _really_ awkward. Do you think it's okay that I told him about Peeta and me?"

Foxface nodded. He green eyes flustered with gold and knowledge. "That was definitely the right thing to do. I think he'll stop now."

A thought burned through my mind. "Should I tell Peeta?"

She thought for a moment before she replied, "No, I don't think you should. Peeta gets jealous over nothing, and I don't think it should be his or your problem."

When History was over, I was glad I had free period. They assigned us the stupidest and longest paper ever. It was about some dead English dudes and what they thought about human nature and government. Gale and Marvel were sitting at our usual spot, but Glimmer was at the other end of the library.

"Cato! Over here!" She yelled. I almost didn't go, but I seriously didn't want to get on Glimmer's bad side. Marvel and Gale were giving me sympathetic looks. When I sat down next to Glimmer she squealed, "Oh my gosh! I've always wanted a gbf!" She must've seen the puzzling look on my face because she added, "A gay best friend, gbf."

I nodded. "So anyways... are you okay? What happened when Principal Snow called you in?" I whispered.

Her face became a little grave, but only for a second. "He was totally, like, mad at me. It, like, impossible. He, um, like, gave me and Clove detention for like a week! He also said that we are going to have to, like, help teachers around school for, like, stuff. He was totally unfair."

At the begging of lunch, right after the bell rang, Glimmer jumped me. "Cato! Oh my god, you'll never believe what I saw! You see, that whore Clove and I were helping Mr. Beetee find his missing chip, or something, and I looked in a closet, and I saw Peeta kissing someone wearing a hoodie. I don't know who it was, but Peeta does."

I was heartbroken at first, but then I just got mad. Peeta got so mad at me for kissing Gale. He was so jealous when Gale put those sunflowers on my car. I felt like he was such a hypocrite. I marched pass Glimmer to the dining hall, but Clove tackled me out of no where.

"Look Cato, it's not what you think. Don't listen to Glim-" I pushed her off of me and out of the way. I saw Foxface, Jessie, pull her up and hold her back. I wanted to here what happened from Peeta. When I looked around I realize Peeta wasn't in the cafeteria.

I ripped my phone from my pocket to call him. He didn't answer. I then broke down, but I fought off any tears. Gale had ran over to me, and he had carried me to the bathroom. Luckily, no one was in there.

Gale asked me what was wrong, so I told him everything starting with Marvel kissing me. "...then Glimmer told me that she saw Peeta kissing some random dude. I think Clove tried to say something, but I didn't listen." Gale was a great listener. His blue eyes held much compassion and reassurance. Peeta's eyes held more innocence though.

Gale grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard. "Look, Cato, get a grip. You're easily the tallest and strongest guy in the grade. Your arm's probably going to be perfect soon. Glimmer can be a bitch. All she can do is talk, really. Don't listen to her. The truth is that Peeta loves you. He called me last night and asked me if Marvel was gay. Then we talked about you for hours, so I know."

I gave Gale a smile. "Thanks Gale, that's really- you _talked about me_ for _hours_? What'd you say?" Gale shot me a smile back and just left me there with my question hanging in the air.

My phone rang. It was Peeta.

"Hello? Cato are you all right? Why'd you call?" he asked me sounding worried.

"I am now. So... where are you?"

"I had to stay in Algebra a little longer, and I have to go back now to finish a test. I'm in the cafeteria now. Where are _you_?" he asked accusingly.

I chuckled and hung up without answering. My happiness was short lived because when I stepped out of the bathroom, I saw Glimmer.

"What was that? I had a mini panic attack!" I growled. Some people turned towards us to see why I yelled so loudly, but I didn't care.

"You see Cato, I don't like liars. Well, I don't like people the lie to me. Clove told me all about you trying to talk to her about Marvel. Did you really think that I wouldn't've figured out that you knew about them eventually?" She slapped me so hard that I fell backwards. I may have been the strongest and biggest person in the school, but Glimmer was definitely more dangerous. She skipped away without a care in the world.

Clove rushed to my side to help me up. "Look, Cato, I'm sorry for being so selfish. I should've listened to you. I was a crazy bitch to think that Marvel would like me. It kind of reminds me of this one time when I took this kiwi and a rubber band from my friend's collection of-"

"I forgive you." I shouted at her with a smile before she could finish.

Clove and I then heard the loudest growl ever... from my stomach. I remembered that I hadn't eaten a huge breakfast because of Marvel, and I hadn't gotten lunch yet either.

Once I ate my lunch with Clove, Foxface, and Gale, I turned around to see Ms. Coin, the Algebra teacher. "Aren't you supposed to be with Peeta, Ms. Coin? Isn't he finishing up a test?"

She shook her head. "Peeta doesn't have to make up any test for me, Cato. If I see him, I'll tell him that you were looking for him."

"That's okay. Thanks anyways."

Clove rubbed my arm. "I'm sure he's fine and isn't doing anything stupid."

Gale looked around. "Where is everybody?"

"Katniss and Thresh are walking in the garden, Helen is probably here watching you somewhere, Glimmer is mad at all of us, so she won't come, and Marvel is a low-life coward who doesn't want to talk to Clove." answered Foxface.

"Hey! Marvel may be the worst person in the world, but he's still my friend." I argued.

At that moment, Helen came running in. "Hey guys! Guess what I just saw in the bathroom next to Ms. Coin's room! Peeta and Marvel were making out!"

"He's dead!" I screamed as I stormed out with Gale and Clove right behind me.

As I was leaving, I heard Foxface ask Helen, "Why were you in the boy's bathroom this time?"

**AN: I was sick, so sorry about this being late! It's kind of short too, but I wanted to give you something so... Review!**


	10. Onemonthiversary

The Boy Who Stares

LabRat3000

_**RECAP:**Marvel and I talked about why he kissed me. He was a bit delusional, but he got over it and me. Glimmer and I spent free period together, so I thought we were friends, but she totally lied to me about Peeta cheating on me when she found out that I knew about Clove and Marvel and didn't tell her. At the end of lunch Helen came in and told us that Peeta actually WAS cheating on me with Marvel._

**AN: So this chapter is written in Peeta's POV.**

Chapter 10: One-month-iversary

I trudged through the rain to get home. Cato wouldn't give me a ride. I remember I woke up feeling so perfect and happy, but the day just got worse as it progressed.

I was so excited for today because it was my one-month-iversary with Cato. I had the whole day planned out perfectly. It was supposed to start with me giving Cato a sunflower when he picked me up. Then, I was going to give Cato a gourmet lunch. The lunch lady owed me a favor after I taught her how to use yeast to cook bread properly. After we went home I was going to surprise him with a movie night at his house. I rented four of his favorite movies, and I bought a lot of snacks and microwavable popcorn. The night would end with Cato and me having a lot of fun in his bed.

The morning wasn't too bad, but I found out my dad was flying to New York because my grandpa had a heart attack. I didn't let it bother me though because I wanted the day to be perfect.

My plan didn't start off as planned when Cato picked me up, though. He didn't know what today was, but that wasn't what threw it off. I didn't really expect him to remember. It didn't really seem like the thing he would care about. The problem that messed the morning up was Marvel. His devilish grin made me shudder.

Cato told me that he knew about our relationship. I wondered who didn't know anymore. It seemed like everybody figured it out. We weren't as discreet as we wanted to be. Even though Marvel knew about us, I didn't give Cato the sunflower. It was just a little too awkward. The whole car ride was awkward. I could see Marvel grinning at me through the mirror the whole time.

My classes weren't too bad, but I couldn't really focus. My notebook had to have been covered with millions hearts and Cato's. Clove said that it was sign that this was an obsession.

I had a free period right before lunch. As I was walking out of my last class, Algebra, I heard Glimmer and Marvel arguing about something. I knew it would be wrong to listen in, but I did it anyways.

"I'm telling you Glimmer, we cannot be together." Marvel shouted in annoyance.

"Am I not good enough?" Glimmer wailed.

"I'm gay!" Marvel explained to her slowly as if she didn't understand.

"Did I really turn you! Am I really that bad?"

"Glimmer! Stop crying like a bitch!"

"Was Cato a better kisser than me or something?" Glimmer asked in a hushed voice. If I was a dog my ears would've perked up. I wondered if Cato had ever kissed Marvel.

"Yes, he was. That kiss last night was much better than any kiss you've ever given me." replied Marvel. My fists balled up tightly.

"I'm so glad we're over you know."

"Me too, Glimmer."

The next thing I heard was a little confusing. Marvel and Glimmer were obviously making out. It gave me time to scurry away to the library, but my mind was still focused on that conversation. I got one credible thing out of it. Marvel and Cato hadn't just played on his xbox last night.

I was lucky to share my free period with Clove. Usually we would play this game I made up where we pick a random book and give it to a random stranger. The look on their faces were usually hilarious.

When I saw Clove, I was even more confused. She was wearing plastic gloves and was wiping the tables off. Glimmer walked past me and started cleaning too. I guessed it was their punishment for fighting in the cafeteria. I put my books on a table that was dry next to Clove.

"Hey," I greeted.

She gave me a smile. "Hey little one."

I fake pouted at her. "I'm still bigger than you."

"So anyways, guess what." Before I could answer, she continued, "The chicken was seriously acting up because I feed him those carrots that the dude in the park gave us. I told you he was shady! We should've learned our lesson when we bought that virtual toaster."

I wasn't really listening because behind Clove, Glimmer was giving me a knowing smirk. I wanted to glare at her, but Cato had warned me not to make her mad. As Clove left to get more wet wipes, Glimmer approached me. "So how are things with you and Cato. I heard that you two had sex in the janitor's closet."

"That's not true!" I shouted in reply. Everyone shushed me.

"Oh! My bad!" She inched closer towards me. "Why not? Doesn't he want to?"

"He does, but, uh, I don't." I leaned away from her as she leaned towards me. I knew my face was probably flustered.

She gave the most innocent and encouraging smile. If I didn't know her from the stories Cato told me, I would've thought she actually wanted to help me. "Oh really? Why not? Aren't you in love with him?"

I nodded quickly. "I am. It's just..."

"Anyways, what do you think of Marvel?" she asked. I was glad that she changed the topic, but I just wished that she wouldn't've changed it to Marvel.

"I think that you deserve better then him. Marvel is a real jerk." I replied smoothly.

Clove loudly walked back into the library. People glared at her, but I sighed with relief. Glimmer flashed me one last smile and then went back to cleaning the tables. Half way through the period, Mr. Beetee came and asked them to help him find his missing computer chip.

I decided that, since lunch was next, I would check up on the meal that I wanted to give Cato. My heart shattered when I saw what the lunch lady made. She cooked rice.

"What is this?" I screeched.

"Hey, this is as gourmet as it gets. It's either this or mystery meat." she replied unenthusiastically.

I wanted to rip all of my hair out, but I stayed calm. I did have a plan B for lunch, but it wasn't a guarantee. Instead of Cato getting something elegant, plan B was to give Cato chips, sodas, and candy. The only way to do that was to ask the only one on this entire campus who actually had some in his locker. It's not like he had books in vending machines never worked, so the only place to get them was... Marvel. I dreaded the idea, but it was for Cato, so I had to.

Luckily, Marvel had Religion. I knew for a fact that he always ditched religion. He would hide out in the boy's bathroom. On the way there I passed Glimmer and Clove. Glimmer gave me a curious look, but I shrugged it off.

Marvel was listening to some rap music when I walked in to the bathroom. I could feel the sound bounce off of the walls. "Marvel!" I screamed as loud as I could. At first I wasn't sure if he heard me, but then he looked up and gave me a huge grin.

He stood up and walked towards me. I walked backwards, but I was forced to stop when my back felt the cool wall behind me. He had me cornered literally, and he knew that I was panicking. "Hey shortie, what's up?" he asked smoothly.

"I uh..." I couldn't talk as I looked into his green eyes. He was enjoying this way too much. "I wanted to ask you if I could have two Dr. Peppers, a family-size bag of Doritos, and a pack of twizlers."

I saw his confidence falter with confusion in his eyes, but only for a second. He opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted by Glimmer. She opened the door with a big grin. "Sorry! Wrong bathroom!" She said in a singsong voice. I swore I saw her wink, but I thought it was my imagination.

When she closed the door, I heard the bell ring, signaling the beginning of lunch. "So, shortie, is this all for you?" he asked.

I didn't want to tell him the truth, but it seemed like the best way to get him to comply. "It's for me and Cato. It's our one-month-iversary."

He chuckled silently. "Oh, is that so? Well, come with me." My phone rang. "Don't answer it." he instructed. I was a little confused, but I did as he said. He was going to save the day after all.

He handed me the food and left. I walked into an empty class room to call Cato back. "Hello? Cato are you all right? Why'd you call?" I asked him a little worried.

He replied sounding relieved. "I am now. So... where are you?"

I decided that I was going to surprise him. "I had to stay in Algebra a little longer, and I have to go back now to finish a test. I'm in the cafeteria now. Where are _you_?"

He hung up without answering, but I didn't take notice. I started walking towards the cafeteria, but Marvel was standing in my way. "Hey, shortie, I need some payment for those goods." I nodded and took out my wallet, but he shook his head no. "Not here. Follow me." We walked back to the bathroom. Marvel hadn't turned the music off yet, so I supposed he was planning on staying here for lunch.

"Wait, so how much do you want? I should have-" He shushed me by rolling his eyes.

"No, you see, I don't want money." he answered.

I was a little confused. "Okay... What do you want then?"

"A kiss," he replied nonchalantly.

"A what!" I yelled in response.

"A kiss. If you don't want to, I guess you and Cato could have the mystery meat. I heard it was horse meat." he replied with a smile.

I glared at him. I was starting to hate Marvel. To my dismay, my body acted on its own. I pulled him down into a quick little kiss. His lips were rough and chapped.

"You call that a kiss?" he asked, "There wasn't even tongue!"

"Take it or leave it." I replied.

He forcefully pulled me into another kiss and moaned into it. I pushed him back and he fell against the wall. I heard a stall open, and I saw Helen jump out of it.

"What are you doing here!" I asked in a frightened yell.

"I saw what you did!" She replied with a glare and rushed out of the bathroom.

Marvel got up. "What the fuck, Peeta!" He asked.

I stared at him in shock. "Are you serious? You kissed me!"

"So what?"

Marvel could not have been serious. "Well, I'm dating Cato!"

He stood up, but he cringed at the pain his back must've been giving him. "You're such a pussy, Peeta."

At that moment, the bathroom doors opened. Cato barged in, followed by Gale and Clove. I whispered, "Cato!" I rushed to give Cato a hug, but he pushed me to the floor. Clove ran to my side to help me up.

"You're a fucking slut Marvel!" he grunted as he punched Marvel in the face. Marvel fell to the floor clutching his eye. Cato didn't stop, though, as he kicked Marvel. "You can't kiss every person in this school you know! Glimmer, Clove, Me, and now Peeta! Whose next? Katniss?" Gale tried to hold Cato back, but Cato was the strongest and biggest person in the school.

Clove wasn't even looking at Marvel. She was focusing on me. "Peeta, are you okay?"

I didn't notice until then, but there was blood dripping down my face. Clove stood up and slapped Cato. "Hey, Mr. Hulk, did you notice in your rampage that you cut Peeta!"

He looked back at me. I thought I saw regret, but whatever it was soon turned to anger. "He's a slut too." With that, he left the bathroom. Clove followed him, yelling. Gale helped me up, but he soon followed Cato as well. I looked down at the damage Cato did to Marvel. Marvel would have two black eyes. I also betted that he would have a broken rib.

I went to the nurses office to get my wound bandaged and disinfected. School for the rest of the day was a blur.

At the end of school, it was raining. I saw Clove get into Cato's car as he took off. I knew I had to walk home.

When I got home, my mom was there alone. "Why are you so wet?" she asked coldly.

"I had to walk home. Cato and I got in a fight." I replied just as coldly.

"Hey, don't be mean to Cato! I'm sure with his looks and his grades all the girls are lining up for him. You could learn a lot."

I was so angry that I couldn't think straight. I was angry at Marvel for kissing me. I was angry at Helen for ratting me out without even listening to my side of the story. I was angry at Cato for cutting me and beating Marvel up. I was angry at my mom for everything. I was mostly angry at myself though for ruining what was supposed the be the best day ever.

Without being able to filter what I said, I yelled at my mom. "Cato doesn't have any girls! He's gay, and he's my boyfriend!"

**AN: So, next chapter I'll be back to Cato's POV. I just wanted to try this out. I would love to know how you think Peeta's traditional Christian mom will react.**


	11. Bags and Boners

The Boy Who Stares

LabRat3000

**AN: Sorry, I had writers block. I just want to thank Kimmie G914 for inspiring me. Fun fact: This chapter was originally titled "Chess and Cheeks"**

_**Recap: **Peeta planned a perfect day with me, but nothing went right. It got even worse when Marvel kissed Peeta. I found out and got super angry. I attacked Marvel and cut Peeta. Peeta was so hurt and angry at the end of the day that he accidentally announced that we were dating to his mom._

Chapter 11: Bags and Boners

"Cato, stop!" Clove yelled behind me. I didn't. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she wanted to talk about what happened. I had cut Peeta and beat up Marvel. "Cato, seriously, we need to talk."

It was the end of the school day. I saw that it started raining. "Look, Clove, let's talk in my car. There's no way I'm letting you go home in this weather."

She didn't smile. "What about Peeta?" I didn't respond. "Cato! Don't be like that! I mean, we don't know what happened." She grabbed my arm, but I pushed her off.

"I know that he kissed Marvel." I replied. I just wanted to go back and beat Marvel up even more. I hated him so much.

I looked around as Clove got into my car to see Peeta staring at us. I had second thoughts about leaving him in the rain, but I pushed them away. He could drown.

Clove turned on the radio, but I soon wished she hadn't. I heard Nicki Minaj, and even though it pained me I couldn't turn it off. It would be much more painful. Clove noticed my pain though, and rubbed my shoulder. "It's going to be all right Cato." I usually tried to hide my emotions, but it wasn't working.

"I don't get it. What's so great about Marvel? Why would he pick Marvel over me? Is it because of sex? I mean, he's the one who didn't want it. I remember I thought he was such a slut." I ranted. I just talked like that all the way to her house. I thought Clove was a great listener, but when I looked over I saw that she was asleep. I didn't really have the key to her house, and I couldn't wake her up and ask. She's a heavy sleeper, as Peeta once told me.

When we got to my house, I picked her up and carried her into the living room. There, I dropped her on the giant couch. I was reminded of how Marvel and I slept on the couch the night before. It was too much for me.

Clove decided to wake up then. Without saying a word, she hugged me. I hugged her back. After a few minutes, Clove turned the TV on. "In other news, a high school student was found in the men's bathroom completely beaten up. None of the wounds were fatal. He claimed he had a sugar rush and-" Clove turned the TV off.

"I don't understand. Why would he cover for you?" Clove asked.

"Régalez-vous les uns les autres, mais pas nourrir les uns des autres à d'autres. We read it in some French book. Basically, it means we can hurt each other, but we protect each other from others. Gale, Marvel, and I swore an oath. I didn't think he remembered." I answered.

"You people are weird. Anyways, guess what I found in that closet over there."

I was so confused and scared. "When- how- what?"

"Chess!" she screamed, "I'm a total beast at this."

I rolled my eyes, but eventually I agreed. She wasn't kidding, she was great. I won once by accident. She was one move away from Checkmate, but I beat her to it when I killed a pawn. I didn't even realize that I won.

During our fifth game, the doorbell rang. Clove got up to answer it. I quickly moved all of our pieces and removed one of her knights. When she came back she had a really guilty look on her face.

"What? Did you order pizza but forget your money?" I joked.

She gulped. "It wasn't the pizza man. It was the bread boy." she whispered.

I turned around and I saw Peeta standing at the doorway to the kitchen. His cut scabbed over, but there were bruises all over his face. Tears were falling down his face like he was pumping them out. He had four suitcases at his side. Instinctively, I ran over and pulled him into a huge bear-hug. He hugged back and continued crying. I picked him up like I would a baby and put him on the couch.

"Shush, Peeta, lover boy, please, don't cry." I soothed. He crawled on my lap and threw his arms around my neck.

"I swear, Cato, I didn't kiss Marvel. I pecked him, but that was for you. You see..." I listened as he explained his horrible day to me. I cringed when he retold the events of me barging into the bathroom, cutting him, and beating up Marvel. He finished there.

I realized he was done and waiting for me to say something. Instead, I kissed him. It was a sweat, sincere kiss at first, but it became much more passionate. His hands traveled up my shirt, but before it could go any further Clove coughed.

Peeta, to my dismay, got off of me and gave Clove a hug. She wiped the fallen tears off of his face and looked around. "Cato! I had both of my knights on the board. Nice try."

Peeta laughed causing me to laugh as well. Clove placed all the pieces exactly where they were. Peeta looked at the board. "Cato is it your turn?" he asked. I nodded. "Oh my god you're dumb. Her queen is right there; kill it!"

Clove pouted. "Maybe I shouldn't've let you in."

I tugged on Peeta's sleeve to get his attention. "How did you get those bruises, and why did you bring all of your stuff?"

"Well, I was angry when I got home. My mom was there. She said some stuff, and I said I was gay. She kicked me out." he informed with a crestfallen face.

I pulled him into another hug. He tried pushing me off of him, but I just hugged tighter. "Peeta, you can definitely stay with me. My mom's working late tonight, and I won't see her until tomorrow night. When I do, I'll tell her. She'll say yes."

He smiled and leaned in to kiss me, but Clove once again interrupted. "Well, we have school tomorrow, and it's nine o'clock. Bye!"

"Want me to drive you?" I asked.

"No thanks. I know I'm not the one you want to drive tonight." she replied with a wink. I saw Peeta wink back.

We both brought his luggage into my room. He's very organized, which I find cute. "I have room in my closet for your clothes."

"I'm just going to pick out some clothes for school tomorrow. I can unpack later." he replied with a yawn.

I pulled him into another hug. "Let's go to sleep."

When we were both in bed, I stared at him. He was so beautiful. My blue sheets brought out his eyes. His blond hair was falling into his eyes. I liked him better that way. He looks weird when he combs his hair back.

I didn't realize he was kissing me until his tongue licked my lips. I instinctively opened them. I ran my hands through the hair I was just thinking about. He did the same to me. My hands somehow went from Peeta's hair to under his shirt. He pulled the shirt off.

I took this chance to admire his abs and pecs. He was much smaller than me, but he still had muscle. His nipples were erect, so I took this chance to start sucking them.

Peeta's moans turned me on so much. He had an angelic and charming voice. It was as warm as the fresh bread he loved to bake. I moved to the other nipple with my mouth. My hands moved to pulled off my shirt. Peeta helped. Eventually, my mouth moved up to Peeta's neck. I sucked on it as hard as I could as Peeta's moans fueled me. I was sure to leave a hickey.

Peeta hands trailed to my pants, and I felt him unbutton them. I looked him in the eyes. "Are you sure, baby?" He nodded and continued removing my pants.

"I love you, Cato" he replied while sliding my pants off.

I pulled him into another passionate kiss. "I love you too." He looked into my eyes and smiled.

His hands gripped the hem of my boxers as he slowly pulled them down. I was as hard as a rock. He licked his lips and then started kissing my abs. He worked his way down to my shaft, but he stopped when he got there. I let out a small groan.

He licked my head and my length. He then dived onto my cock without warning. I wondered how he deep-throated even though he was a virgin.

Suddenly, the door to my room bursted open. "Hey C- OH MY GOD."

**AN: Who do you think opened that door?**


	12. The Storm

The Boy Who Stares

LabRat3000

**Quick AN: I love all of you who reviewed! I thank all of you who favorited and alerted!**

**So, I'm probably going to say this again at the end, but I seriously want to know what you think of my characters. Is Marvel an evil slut? Is Glimmer a conniving bitch? Is Cato an aggressive sweetheart? Is Peeta really named Wheat? Is Clove a funny fish-stick? Tell me what you think please!**

_**Recap:** I was so angry at Peeta for everything, but I forgave him when he came to my house after being kicked out by his mom. He explained everything, and I felt like such a dick. Clove was there too, and we played chess. I told Peeta that he could move in with me, so he slept with me in my room. Actually, we didn't sleep. He was in the middle of giving me head, but someone walked in and ruined all the fun._

Chapter 12: The Storm

Suddenly the door to my room bursted open. "Hey C- OH MY GOD!"

Gale must've flinched at the sight of Peeta sucking me off. I had my eyes closed. I heard a sharp scream. When I opened my eyes I saw that behind him Foxface was silently laughing her tail off. The worst part though, was my mother. She was the one who screamed so loudly.

Peeta stopped completely for a second before throwing the covers on top of himself and the lower half of my body. "H-hi, mom! Hey, Gale, Foxface. Wh-what are doing here?"

My mom was dumbstruck. She looked to Foxface to explain. "Well, Gale told me your heart was broken. Obviously, that's not the case. I called your mom to tell her, and she told her boss it was a family emergency and that she had to leave. Even though it's like 9:30 pm on a school night, we all came over to make you feel better. Obviously, Peeta beat us to that. It really explains why Clove told us not to come. She said that if we did go to bring a watermelon, though, so here." Gale whose eyes were glued to my naked torso brought out the watermelon and laid it on the bed. Peeta's palm could not have slapped his face harder under the blanket.

"Gale, you poor fool, why would you let Cato go? Look at his abdomen. There are _eight_ perfectly defined abs. Don't even get me started on his pecs. Plus, did you see how big his peni-" Foxface started.

"Okay, I get it!" Gale responded, cutting her off. He turned around and looked me over again. I was a little surprised that Foxface was talking so much. Usually she liked to stay back and hide in the shadows.

"I mean, seriously. I'd have been all over him if he was straight. I mean, look at him. His arms, even his broken one, are so big. Plus, his butt is-"

"Jessie, we get it." Gale repeated. It was obvious he was holding himself back. I'm sure he wanted to jump on me.

"I'm not trying to make you feel dumb, but you are. I mean, seriously-" Foxface continued.

"Excuse me, Jessie, I can hear you. Oh, and by the way, you should really stop spending so much time with Clove." I stated. I felt Peeta chuckle by my side.

My mother cleared her throat and hurried Gale and Foxface out. As they were leaving, I heard Gale whisper to Foxface. "I wonder why Clove told us to bring the watermelon. I mean, I would understand a banana or something, but what does a watermelon have to do with anything?"

I looked up to see my mom's stunned face. I totally forgot about her. I mean, her son, me, was naked in bed with a boy, and two kids next to her are talking about how hot he is. Once the three of us were alone, she addressed the situation. "This is not how I expected my night to go. Cato, Jessie told me that Peeta broke your heart-"

"Mom, it was just a rumor, and I seriously overreacted." Through the corner of my eye I saw Peeta pull the blanket tighter around him.

"Peeta, I can see you. Why are you here in bed with my son at 9:30 on a school night?" she asked. He didn't move.

I decided on helping Peeta out in this awkward situation. "Well, actually, I needed to tell you something. Peeta told his mom about us, and she... kicked him out. I was wondering if he could stay here! Well, at least until his dad comes back."

My mom looked at my covered boyfriend. "Honey, of course he can. The thing is, I don't want to come into your room and see... that... ever again. Peeta can stay on the couch."

Peeta's head was slowly coming out of the blanket. "Thanks," he whispered.

"Peeta, dear, what happened? You have that nasty cut, and who gave you that bruise on your cheek."

"Well, Cato accidentally cut my cheek, and my mom hit me with the rolling pin when I came out to her." explained Peeta with a nervous chuckle.

She paused for a second, but eventually my mom came over a gave Peeta a small hug. If we weren't naked with only a shared blanket covering us, she probably would've given him more of a real hug. "Sweetie, that's terrible. You can stay with us as long as you like, but what I said before still applies. You need to sleep on the couch."

"Mom! That's so unfair! It'll be so much better for Peeta to sleep with me!" I argued.

"Um, no! Obviously, you won't be doing much sleeping in here. You can sleep with him on the couch if you want. I can hear what you're doing if you're there." she smirked at me victoriously.

"On the contrary, it'll tired us out, and we'll go to sleep. It's much quicker than us laying awake for hours before we get sleepy." I retorted. She gagged and glared at me. "Okay, come on Peeta. Let's go to the couch." I said in defeat.

We were about to get up, but my mom shrieked. "Ew! Let me get out, and you better put on some clothes!" I awkwardly laughed.

When she left, Peeta and I found our clothes around the room. I found my boxers in the closet. "I'm so sorry about all of that Peeta."

He looked at me and smiled. "Cato, that was terrifying, but it made me realize how perfect you are. If I was the one forced to talk while you were hiding under a blanket, I would've choked. I'm really lucky to have you. Oh, and I'm sorry that we didn't finish. I know how much you've wanted this." I bent down to grab his shirt, which I handed him with a smile.

"Seriously? I'd rather not have started than those three walking in on us." I joked. He laughed with his angelic voice again.

"Agreed. Foxface was a little too chatty, and Gale licked his lips when he walked in on us. Worst of all, I feel like every time your mom looks at me she's going to be thinking about me deep-throating you." Peeta looked so cute as he buttoned and zipped my pants for me.

"By the way, thanks for coming to sleep with me. I seriously need you now." By the time he was finished talking, we were millimeters apart. We we're passionately making out for a minute, at least, until my mom knocked on the door.

"Go to sleep. _Now_!" she warned us.

Peeta flinched away from me as soon as he heard her. I shook my head at him with a smile before saying, "Hey, go to the couch. I'll get some sheets."

When I did get the sheets, I found Peeta looking at all of my pictures in the living room. I snuck up behind him so that he wouldn't notice I was there. He picked a picture of me on my sixth birthday with Gale and Marvel. We were all wearing party hats, and we looked like the best of friends. That was before things became about sex and love.

I wrapped my hands around Peeta and grabbed the photo causing Peeta to shriek. I kissed his neck to calm him down, but he was mad at me for sneaking up on him like that. I chuckled as I got onto the couch which Peeta eventually got on and snuggled up to me.

"Hey, Cato, how did you three become friends?" Peeta asked.

I thought back to the time. I remembered it so well. I actually met them in Pre-K, but we didn't talk until Kindergarden. They both fought a lot, and I was always the one to split them apart. It was because I was the biggest kid, so I just felt that it was my duty. The teacher on the other hand would always give all three of us time-outs. Luckily, the room only had one time-out spot, so we sat together. Eventually, we discovered our mutual love of football and super heroes. I was usually Superman, Gale was usually Batman, and Marvel was Spiderman. Once we played superhero football which was my worst idea ever. We wore our super hero costumes from Halloween and played football, but at the end of the day we all got rashes. Peeta started laughing, and I realized that I reminisced out loud.

When Peeta was half asleep, I decided it was the best time to get some answers. "Hey Peeta," I whispered.

"Yes, hot-o, I mean, Cato?" he whispered back.

"Why does Clove always bring up a watermelon?" I asked him.

He yawned and replied, "I had this dream once before we started dating."

I waited for him to continue, but he ended there until I nudged him and asked, "What was the dream about? What happened."

"Oh nothing. I just smashed a watermelon and rubbed you with the juices. You thought I was giving," he yawned, "you a massage. We were both naked and had sex afterwards. It's no big," he yawned again before finishing with, "deal. I stopped telling Clove my dreams after that."

I couldn't really respond to that... at all, so I just ended up falling asleep. I looked outside the window before I did and saw that it was lightly raining.

When I woke up, I realized that Peeta was gone. I checked the time, and it was only six o'clock. I looked around and noticed that the rain outside was pouring heavily, and then I saw a flash of light. It wasn't even a second later before I heard the thunder.

I got off of the couch to go brush my teeth. I opened the bathroom to see Peeta brushing his teeth in the sexiest way possible, so I just stood next to him and started brushing as well. "So, Cato, did the thunder wake you up too?" Peeta asked.

"Probably," I replied, "or maybe it was because I noticed in my sleep that you were gone and I couldn't enjoy the peacefulness of sleep." I wrapped my free hand, the one that was almost completely healed, around his waist.

He giggled in the cutest way possible. "I love how you randomly say super lovey-dovey stuff. I woke up at five, and I made breakfast, by the way." He finished brushing his teeth and left. I quickly finished freshening up as well.

My mother had to work, so it was no surprise when I saw her up this early. "Kids, good news. Some lightning hit the school, so you won't have school for the rest of this week. It's good news because you guys can have a small party today if you want. By small party, I don't mean inviting everyone where you all get drunk. I mean like Clove, Gale, and the girl that looks like a fox can come over and watch a movie."

"Wait, mom, how are they going to get here in this storm?"

She chuckled. "The weather people said it would end at like ten. Oh yes, by the way, this boy said he was coming over at six-thirty. I didn't bother asking who though, and if they're trying to get here through this storm it must be important."

"Mom, that's in like two minutes! Why didn't you tell me this before?" I asked.

"Well, I was going to tell you last night, but after what I walked in on that was the last thing on my mind. Okay, well, I have to go."

"Wait!" Peeta shouted, "I made you a cinnamon roll to take to work!" She smiled at Peeta, took the roll in a napkin, and rushed out of the house.

I heard a knock at the door a few minutes later. When I opened the door with Peeta by my side, my jaw fell.

It was Marvel.

**AN: Ooh! Why do you think Marvel's there?**

**I want to know what you think of my characters. Is Marvel an evil slut? Is Glimmer a conniving bitch? Is Cato an aggressive sweetheart? Is Peeta really named Wheat? Is Clove a funny fish-stick? Tell me what you think please!**


	13. Party Prep

The Boy Who Stares

LabRat3000

**AN: So, I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in like forever, but I hope this makes up for it! I'm going to be uploading smaller chapters (1000-2000 words) but I'll update more now.**

_**Recap:**_ So it was Gale, Foxface, and my mom who walked in on Peeta and me... It was awkward! My mom let Peeta stay with us as long as he slept on the couch. There was a huge storm which shut the school's power down, so we got the day off. My mom said we could invite people over. After she left, Marvel showed up.

Chapter 13: Party Prep

"Marvel? Why are you here?" I asked. I turned to Peeta who was glaring at the dirty blond in front of us. "I thought you were in the hospital."

He chuckled. "Hi Cato _and Peeta_, aren't you going to invite me in?" He was all wet and cold standing there outside.

Peeta's glare became more serious as he replied, "No."

I grabbed Marvel and pulled him inside to Peeta's dismay. I knew how mad Peeta must've been, but I was feeling guilty. I felt like I overreacted in the bathroom.

"Thanks. I came to say sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for kissing you, kissing Peeta, kissing Clove, and kissing Katniss-"

"You kissed Katniss!" Peeta yelled in surprise. He was really angry now, so I grabbed his arm. "Cato let go! He's a-"

"I know. I'm sorry." Marvel interrupted. "I just want things to go back to the way they were. You know, before I hooked up with Clove."

I gave him a sympathetic look. I wanted to say that everything was going to be alright and would go back to normal, but he just brought too much drama into my life for me to handle. There was no way anything would go back to the way it was before. "Marvel, I don't think that's possible. You've put your lips on too many people, but..."

"But?" Marvel asked hopefully.

"But!" Peeta angrily shouted.

"I'm willing to try. I'm having some people over tonight like around 6. You're invited."

Marvel was about to say something, but he got a text. "I've got to go, but thank you so much. Dude, I'm definitely coming tonight. Well, bye!" He gave me a hug, getting me all wet, and then was escorted by Peeta to the front door.

Peeta slammed the door as Marvel left and turned around to face me. I've never been so afraid of the shorter blond in my life. "Cato, what the fuck was that? My life was completely screwed because of him. I lost my boyfriend, my best friend, and my family because of him. I do not want to see him ever again!"

This boy was giving me his regular death glare. I remember when he used to stare at me. That was when things were easy. "Look, Peeta, baby, I'm really sorry, but I seriously don't think he's all that bad. He's just... misguided-"

"Misguided? Are you kidding me Cato? I don't care what he is, anyways. I just want him out." Peeta argued.

I walked a little closer and pulled him into a bear hug. He tried to escape but I held on tightly. "I know it's no excuse, but we've been friends for my whole life. Please, just give him one more chance."

Peeta somehow managed to build enough strength up to push me away. "No way! I'm not giving him any chances. It's been a day, and people don't even change. Plus, he kissed Katniss!"

"So?" I asked him.

Almost all of his anger seemed to be replaced by something else. "Uh, I, well, um..."

Suddenly I was interested. "Peeta, is there something you're not telling me? I've never even seen you and Katniss talk."

"Well we have." He snapped. I backed off a bit as he walked into the kitchen. "Your food's getting cold. Come and eat."

I got out my phone and texted everyone about the mini-party. Clove, Gale, Jessie, and even Katniss and Thresh. Peeta was a bit calmer after some time. We settled on the couch and turned on TV. Peeta practically stole the remote from me and switched to his favorite channel, E! . After watching about an hour of Kim and the rest of the Kardashians, the silence was broken.

"I'm sorry about earlier." Peeta said as he scooted closer to me to snuggle.

"Peeta, no, don't be. I should be sorry. I knew how you felt, but I was just feeling so guilty." I replied.

"I just... I don't know. I don't want our whole relationship to be bitter."

I leaned in to kiss his cheek. Slowly, I snaked my hands towards his side and started to tickle him. He laughed in his sweet voice, and it was contagious. Eventually, we were on the ground, me on top of him, laughing like morons.

"Are you two done?"

I shot up instantly looking at the unexpected visitor. It was foxface. "How'd you get in here?"

She smiled. "Well, I can only say that it's for me to know and for you to find out." I thought the storm ended at ten. I looked at the clock and it was already 10:30 am. Peeta and I have been rolling around tickling each other for hours.

Peeta nervously chuckled next to me. "So, um, ha ha, why are you here Jessie?" he asked.

"I came to ask you if you wanted me to bring cheese? Clove's getting the wine right now."

"What?" I asked sounding so stupid.

"Um, well, I mean there _is_ a wine and cheese tasting tonight." she explained to me.

"No, there wasn't," Peeta stated. He turned to me and continued, "but there is now. Clove is serious about her wine and cheese. I don't get how she gets the wine, I mean she's as half as tall as you and barely passes for 14, but she does."

I was so confused, but I decided to just go with it. I told Foxface that if she could bring cheeses and crackers it'd be awesome. Mostly it was just an excuse to get rid of her though.

Peeta made a joke about me tickling him for hours, but I was lost in his blue eyes. I leaned forward and kissed him.

He kissed back passionately, but before it could go too far I pulled away. "Peeta, I don't want our first time to be spontaneous. I want a romantic moment. Like, you know, when you got out of the hospital and we got back together, or yesterday when we... got back together."

Peeta pouted before replying, "I'm breaking up with you." I was so shocked. I wondered if this was because I wouldn't put out, but I remembered Clove telling me that Peeta was one of those people that wanted to wait too. He scooted even closer to me before continuing, "Let's get back together."

I laughed, understanding. "I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way, but nice try."

We watched more E! for about an hour. There was this documentary that was focusing on Nicki Minaj, so Peeta was watching intensely. I was forced to watch it too. When Lil' Wayne appeared I perked up. I didn't know Lil' Wayne was the one to discover her.

During the commercials Peeta was singing songs by Nicki Minaj. I never noticed how well he could sing. He could bake too. I'm pretty sure he's and artist as well. Plus, he's hot and smart. He's everything anyone could want.

"I love Nicki Minaj and then Ke$ha comes right after." he informed me.

"The only thing nice about Nicki is her as-"

"Oh my gosh, do not dare finish that sentence or I won't kiss you ever again." he joked.

"Well obviously you don't want to. I'm not your first choice."

He slapped me playfully as we both laughed. We spent a few more hours curled up on the couch. After that, we got ready for the night.

Peeta changed into a tee-shirt and jeans, and so did I. Peeta's clothes were tight though, so I couldn't help but stare. I moved all the valuable and breakable stuff into my room while Peeta made some cupcakes and cookies for us to enjoy.

At 5:30, Clove arrived. She bought seven bottles of wine. "Well? How was last night?" she asked with a smirk.

The doorbell rang at 5:50 and Gale was the second to arrive. Five minutes later Foxface, Katniss, and Thresh came together.

"I brought extra Cheese and Crackers just in case." Foxface stated. She looked around and saw the goodies Peeta baked. "Well, I feel like this is unnecessary."

I told them that Marvel was coming over too, and they freaked out. Marvel came at 6:02, but no one said anything.

I saw Clove eating like eight cupcakes so I decided to say something. "Clove, calm down. They aren't going to run away."

"Cato, let me eat. I'm on my period." she retorted with a grin.

I paused. "Wait, I thought you were on your period last week. Nice try though."

"Okay, well, what should we open first? I like the Ménage à Trois personally, bu-" Clove started. She was interrupted by the doorbell.

"I didn't invite anyone else. Who is that?" I asked everyone. No one seemed to know, so I went and opened the door.

"Hey sluts and bitches!"

It was Glimmer.

**AN: Hey, so this is from a chapter way back when people were talking about what music they like and Cato pissed them off. Foxface said she liked Jacqueline. Jacqueline is the actor who plays Foxface, and you can find her on youtube. Search 'Jacqueline Peter Pan'**


	14. Wine, Cheese, and Party Sleaze

The Boy Who Stares

LabRat3000

**AN: So I'm not too happy with this chapter, but I hope you won't hate it!**

**_Recap:_**_ So Marvel showed up at my house and asked for us to start over. He said sorry for kissing everyone which included Katniss. Peeta freaked out when he heard that for some reason. Much to Peeta's disliking, I let Marvel come to the party that night. It started out as a small and innocent party, but Clove decided it should have Wine and Cheese. Everyone but Helen came... including Glimmer. That bitch has a lot of nerve coming to my house uninvited._

Chapter 14: Wine, Cheese, and Party Sleaze

"Hey sluts and bitches!" Glimmer greeted us. She was a little drunk, but I knew she wasn't drunk enough to be so stupid as to come over without a reason. She took a few steps and pulled me into a menacingly nice hug. "Don't tell me that you started without me."

"What the hell are you doing here!" Marvel shouted. Gale and Katniss, who were standing right in front of him, were shocked at Marvel's outburst.

Glimmer just laughed and shook her head. "You didn't think I'd stay home did you? I wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Glimmer get out!" Clove shouted. "I'll have you know that I'm a vindictive-"

"I am too, sweetie."

"Don't call me that." replied Clove through her clenched teeth.

Katniss and Thresh were so confused and scared. Well, Thresh was confused and Katniss was scared. I forgot that they were the only ones that didn't know about Peeta and I. They always seem to be doing their own thing.

"Look Glimmer, if this is your way of trying to start over again then you're not doing so well." I informed her.

"Sure, I'm trying to start over again. Let's go with that. You won't kick me out will you?"

"Of course he will." Marvel and Gale said in unison.

"No, it's okay. You can stay, but I'm this close to kicking you out, so don't do anything. How'd you even know we were here tonight?" I said.

"Looks like one of your _friends_ has a knife in their hands." Glimmer noted. She walked away to talk- actually to fight with Marvel through silent whispers. It got me wondering if he was the one who told her.

Peeta pulled me to the side, and Clove followed. "Look Cato, I know you're trying to be nice and all, but seriously? First you invite Marvel and his 'starting over' act, and now you let Glimmer in too? You seriously need to grow a pair."

I was about to say something in my defense, but Clove beat me to it. "Peeta, Cato was right in letting Marvel in. Marvel's not that great of a liar, but Glimmer is. She will eat you from the inside. Kick. Her. Out!"

"Guys, just enjoy the part-" I started.

I was interrupted from another possibly drunk outburst from Glimmer, "Hey look! Cato was a slut when he was a baby." I looked to see what she was pointing at. It was a picture of Gale, Marvel, Clove, and me. They were all around me trying to pick me up. Marvel and Clove had grabbed my hands, and Gale had grabbed my feet. It's kind of an awkward picture. Everyone except Peeta, Clove, and Marvel laughed.

"So anyways," Peeta started, "how about I put on some music?" He took his phone out, but I snatched it from him quickly. I didn't know his passcode, so I did the obvious one. C-A-T-O... 2-2-7-6. It worked!

I scrolled through his music library as he tried to take his phone back. I didn't really find anything other than Nicki Minaj, Ke$ha, and some other pop artists, but I found Love the Way You Lie, so I played it.

I gave Peeta his phone back, and he gave me an angry but cute look.

"Hey guys! Check this out!" Glimmer once again yelled. I looked over to see Peeta's suitcase opened and Glimmer scavenging through his things. "I think they're planning on eloping!" She pulled out a toothbrush. "I wonder whose this is.

"Okay, that was the last straw. You don't mess with the baker! I will dress you in a papaya suit and feed you to Bo Bo! Well, no, Bo Bo still has indigestion. I'll just kick you out." Clove yelled. She jumped on Glimmer, and they started to fight. Once I saw that Clove was struggling, Peeta and I pulled them apart.

"Okay, Glimmer, I think this was a mistake. You should leave. Now."

She brushed herself off in the spots I grabbed to pull her off of Clove. "Okay, well, fine. I got what I came for anyway." She took off with her purse.

"That was weird." Gale commented. He turned to Clove. "I'm going to open the third bottle of wine."

Marvel came up to me. "Look, Cato, I just wanted to tell you that it wasn't me who told Glimmer about tonight. Like I said, I really want to start over."

"I believe you Marvel." I didn't believe him. Obviously he told Glimmer. Who else would have?

The rest of the night was a blur. I drank a little, but Peeta barely had a sip. I think it's because the last time he got drunk he had an uncontrollable sexual desire, pushed me into Gale's arms, and hospitalized himself.

Gale, Clove, and Katniss on the other hand were completely wasted. Thresh and Foxface drank even more than those three, but they were handling it well. I concluded that everyone was too drunk to leave by themselves, so Marvel and I took them home. Since Katniss and Gale were neighbors, Marvel took them home. I took Thresh home. Clove and Foxface really wanted to stay, so I let them sleep in my room.

Peeta and I were cleaning up. I had set up our makeshift bed on the couch. I looked over and I saw him rummaging through his suitcase. I though he was looking for some gym shorts to sleep in, but he seemed to be searching for something. I didn't know what, but whatever it was he didn't seem to find it. I didn't really pay close attention to it until he started crying. He got up and went to my room where Clove and Foxface were.

I got up to follow him, but as I was about to enter my room he shut the door in my face. I took it as a sign that it was none of my business. I waited for what seemed like forever for him to come out.

When he did he didn't say anything to me. He just hugged me, and I held him back. I didn't really know why he was crying, so I didn't say anything. I just embraced him in a protective manor. After a while he did say something.

"It's gone."

**AN: Hey! So I'm back with a not-so quick update! What do you think is missing? Review in the pretty little box below!**


	15. The Icing on the Cake

The Boy Who Stares

LabRat3000

**AN: Hey guys! So I have a poll on my profile for you guys! I'm letting you pick who Marvel ends up with, so abuse your power and vote AFTER reading! ANARCHY!**

**_RECAP:_**_ So Glimmer like crashed my party and was a bitch, so I kicked her out. Marvel told me he didn't tell Glimmer about the party, but he was probably lying. Foxface and Clove slept over at my house, and when Peeta saw that something was missing from his suitcase he went to talk to them and not me. After he came out he told me that something was gone._

Chapter 15: The Icing on the Cake

"What's gone, Peeta? Your wallet? Your phone? Your autographed poster of Lil Wayne?" I asked him. He seemed really distraught, so he must've lost something important.

"No, no, and that's a poster of Nicki Minaj. Lil Wayne just happened to have his face in the corner." He took a deep breath before continuing. "The picture is gone."

I pulled him into another hug. "You mean your poster? That's seriously not a big deal, babe. You're a little too obsessed with her."

"No that's not it... but, well, it's kind of a long story. I'll let Clove and Foxface fill you in on everything. I really need some rest." He answered.

I kissed his forehead and pulled him on top of me on the couch. It was a little confusing, but I decided that we both needed rest.

I woke up at about three a.m. that day. I heard Peeta groan and checked to see if he was all right, but I had a hangover so I couldn't really think much. When I looked him over, I saw that he was peacefully sleeping, and then I heard him moan and grunt. As I listened a little longer I heard him whisper, "Mmm, Cato. Fuck, I love you so much." He said some other... explicit stuff, but I didn't really pay attention. Peeta said that he loved me. He said it in a wet dream, but he said it. I forgot that he was only a freshman. They have these dreams a lot. A few seconds later our pants were sticky. It was a little awkward falling asleep with his baby gravy all over my pelvic area, but I didn't mind because Peeta said that he loved me. The hard part about falling asleep was trying to stop smiling, really.

When I woke up five hours later, I saw Peeta smiling in my face. "Morning, sexy." He gave my neck a few kisses and got off of me. The first thing I noticed was that my pants didn't feel wet or sticky dry. Then I noticed that Peeta was in a different pair of pants. I connected two and two together to conclude that Peeta must've cleaned it up. Obviously, we weren't going to talk about it.

At that moment, Clove burst out of my room. "Hey, guys! Okay, so Jess and I came up with a super great idea for getting the picture back. We thought that Cato could try to pretend to want to make amends with Glimmer, but secretly he's going to leave the door open so that Jessie can sneak in and look for it."

"Okay, hold up. I don't even know what's gone." I interrupted.

Behind Clove, Jessie walked out of my room. "Clove being the creepy, scary person she is found a picture of Glimmer."

"So? What's the big deal? There are like 900 pictures of her on Facebook."

"Well, this one is her in sixth grade. Imagine Glimmer with glasses, pimples, her hair in a bun, and like her weighing 200 lbs."

I tried. I got nothing. I actually wondered if that was possible. "That's terrible! Seriously, it's messed up. What were you going to do with it? Blackmail? I don't want any part of this... Actually, I really don't think it's that big of a punch. Who would care?"

Clove thought for a moment. "Maybe not to you! You're an ignorant boy... and you do know she was the reason Marvel kissed your Bread Boy, right? He told me everything last night when he was drinking a little."

"Bitch is dead!" I replied.

"Thanks, Cato, you're the best... Hey, so I'm going to go shower okay?" Peeta stated. He walked away somewhat seductively. He wasn't even trying, but he turned me on.

"Ugh! I need some Advil." Clove stated. I needed some too. I offered Foxface because she had so much to drink last night, but she seemed fine.

"Cato," Foxface started, "When do you get your cast off? You've had a broken arm for like forever. I mean, it was broken even _before_ we became friends!"

"Oh! I forgot to tell you guys! I'm getting it off next week. I think I became ambidextrous, though, so I might not use my right arm as much. I'm not gonna be able to play football, but I mean they only have like three more games anyway."

"Hey, Cato, can you help me? I can't find the shampoo in the bathroom." Peeta asked.

I agreed and went to the bathroom with him. It didn't take long for us to start making out. Unfortunately, it wasn't long until the door opened. "Cato! Peeta!" shrieked my mom.

"I thought you were at work!" I yelled at her.

"And I thought, after last time, you would learn how to lock the door!" my mom retorted. "...Actually, this is the perfect time for me to give you a present."

"Oh no thank you, Ms-"

"Peeta, you can call me Ashely."

"Ms. Ashely."

My mom opened a drawer under the sink and pulled out a box. When she opened it I almost turned purple.

"Cato, if you're going to be spreading your mayonnaise for everyone, I want you to be safe. Here are some condoms. Also, Peeta, if you're going to be straddling Cato's hotdog you need to be safe too. Here's some lube. Tight holes drive men crazy, but you never want it to be too tight or else you can be expecting to live in the hospital." She rummaged through the box some more. "Here is a dildo, for whomever wants it. Peeta, you can use this to loosen up too." I turned to the left to see Peeta as red as a tomato. "Last, but not least, here is a movie. It'll teach-"

"Mom! Get out!" I yelled. I had to stop her because I seriously didn't want to know what that video was supposed to teach us. To my luck, she stated to leave. "And take your box with you!" I shouted.

"Anyways... the shampoo is right here, babe." I told him.

When I walked out, I saw Clove with _the box_. She and Foxface were inspecting it. When they saw me coming, they started laughing hysterically. "Where did you get that?" I asked.

After Jessie's laughter died down, she answered. "You mom gave it to us because she thinks you two really needed these things. Good thing too because if Peeta didn't have this lube, you would split him in half. I remember how big it was when I walked in on you... wait... is this... Oh my god!" that last part was about the "movie" my mom bought.

"Clove, you really have to stop rubbing off on Jessie."

"Well, according to this box, you're the one rubbing off." she responded. They started laughing incredibly loud again.

"But Clove," Foxface started, "he's right. You rubbed off on all of us. Remember when I didn't say a word? Or when Cato was a jerk? Or when Peeta was so shy? I remember he wouldn't do more than stare at Cato for a year?"

"I'm just amazing, I know." she answered. She pulled out her phone. "Shit! The horse ate the pickled french fry when I grabbed his-!"

"What!?" I yelled, "...never mind." It was better not to know with Clove.

"It's just that his licensed was suspended, again! Everyone in the barn'll talk about it. It's nothing though, I'll deal with it later.

"Anyways, we have leftovers of Peeta's cookies and-" I tried to say.

"No we don't!" Clove informed before burping. "Excuse me, but you guys made out in the bathroom for a while."

After Peeta got out of the shower and made us breakfast, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID. It was Marvel.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Cato."

"What's up?"

"I have to tell you something."

"You took something from Peeta's bag last night?"

"..What? No! That wasn't what I was gonna say!"

"Well?..."

"I think I know who invited Glimmer, and maybe took Peeta's stuff."

"One sec..." I turned to Clove and Foxface, "Can you guys give me a moment?"

"Sure," Clove replied. "We have to leave anyways. I have a lot of homework this week-end." As they left, I went back to my conversation with Marvel. Peeta was by my side listening.

"Who do you think invited Glimmer, Marvel?" I asked.

"Well, you won't believe me, so I'm going to send you a picture."

"Okay, bye."

I hung up and went to my text app. Marvel took a minute to send me the picture.

"Wait!" Peeta whispered. "Are you sure about this? Can we trust him?"

"Of course not!" I answered. "We have to see, though."

I opened the picture, and I almost dropped my phone. It was a picture of Glimmer... with another girl. They were kissing. What shocked me was the red hair, long face, and green eyes of the other girl. It was Foxface.

**AN: Hey, sorry this took so long! I was setting up my new apartment. At least I didn't take three weeks! Anyways, remember to vote on my profile. Also, leave a comment about Foxface/Jessie in the white box below.**


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